The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug called Adasuve. It was created by Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc., and is used to treat schitzophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is the first drug to treat those disorders that can be inhaled.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved a drug called Adasuve. According to Reuters this drug delivers loxapine, which is an older antipsychotic drug, via being inhaled. Adasuve passes through the lungs and into the blood stream faster than a pill. Right now, Loxapine is only available as an oral medication.
The drug is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Mayo Clinic says:
Schizophrenia is a group of severe brain disorders in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking and behavior.
Schizophrenia is a chronic condition, requiring lifelong treatment.
The Mayo Clinic says that bipolar disorder is associated with mood swings that range from the lows of depression to the highs of mania. This could be why it is also sometimes called manic-depressive disorder. It is possible for children to have bipolar disorder. There is a type of schizophrenia, called childhood schizophrenia that, as the name implies, affects children.
It is worth noting that Adasuve has potentially dangerous side effects, including a potential for fatal bronchial spasms in people who have asthma or who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. The drug also has the side effect of a higher risk of death in elderly people who have a dementia-related psychosis. Alexza will include boxed safety warning about the side effects of Adasuve.
Adasuve is not yet on the market. It will become available for commercial use sometime in the early part of the third quarter of 2013, according to Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. However, the drug has was approved, earlier in December, by European health regulators.
The FDA website has some more information about Adasuve. Its generic name is loxapine. It also says:
Adasuve (loxapine) is a typical antipsychotic indicated for the acute treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder in adults.
From this, I would think that Adasuve is not a drug that is intended for children. However, parents of adult children might want to speak with their child’s doctor about this drug. The doctor will have the best information about pharmaceutical forms of treatment specifically for your child.
Image by Hey Paul Studios on Flickr