Amisulpride

Amisulpride is an atypical antipsychotic used to treat psychosis in schizophrenia and episodes of mania in bipolar disorder. In Italy, it is also used as a treatment for dysthymia. It was introduced by Sanofi-Aventis in the 1990s. Its patent had expired by 2008 and hence generic formulations are now available.Amisulpride function primarily as a D2 and D3 receptor antagonist. It has high affinity for these receptors with dissociation constants of 2.2 nM and 2.4 nM, respectively. Although standard doses used to treat psychosis inhibit dopaminergic neurotransmission, low doses preferentially block inhibitory pre-synaptic autoreceptors.