Off label uses of Abilify

[DOrk]

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Hi all

My mother was just given Abilify 5 mg QD by her dermatologist to treat her "itching." Is Abilify now being used off-label (like TCA's and Neurontin) to treat neuropathic pain, etc.?

(Never mind the fact that my mother thinks she is being bitten by bugs...and every one of the "bugs" she shows me is a piece of lint, a scab, etc....But I doubt the dermatologist is using Abilify to treat her delusions...at least I hope not).

 

[Apollyon]

"Abilify" (what is the generic - aristopazole, or something like that....(sorry, "aripiprazole")) is the most Don King-sounding name of a drug I've ever heard.

 

[willow212]

Hi all

My mother was just given Abilify 5 mg QD by her dermatologist to treat her "itching." Is Abilify now being used off-label (like TCA's and Neurontin) to treat neuropathic pain, etc.?

(Never mind the fact that my mother thinks she is being bitten by bugs...and every one of the "bugs" she shows me is a piece of lint, a scab, etc....But I doubt the dermatologist is using Abilify to treat her delusions...at least I hope not).

Not really sure about off-label uses of Abilify. But there definitely is a branch of derm that deals with dermatopsychology (which would treat patients like those with your mother's symptoms). Given your mother's story, treating her delusions may decrease a self-induced itch-scratch cycle, and may help overall.

 

[Anasazi23]

I can't find any off-label uses for Abilify and have attended at least half a dozen drug dinners and lectures on that compound alone, with no mention for specific dermatological indications. It looks to me like her dermatologist may be treating a delusional parasitosis. Traditionally, (and the literature is somwhat mixed), this condition had some treatment success with pimozide, which has shown clinical efficacy with other monosymptomatic delusions. There are now articles showing support for further research into the use of atypicals in this condition: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14971869

The field of psychodermatology has always been very interesting to me. There are quite a few journal articles on the subject, a journal itself, and training methods for dermatologists to treat psychiatric manifestations of skin disorders. Here's another simple article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3957016&dopt=Abstract

If your mother truly has delusional parasitosis, I highly doubt that 5mg Abilify will touch it, provided it is truly that condition. It's certainly worth a try, but based on the risk/benefit ratio, and the severity of symptoms, it will likely require higher doses of more typical agents. There is some evidence that the addition of a serotonergic agent will treat these types of conditions provided there is a component of delusional depression, and not simply frank psychosis.

Good luck.

 

[DOrk]

Thanks everybody...