Aripiprazole “Induced” and Aripiprazole “Worsened” Parkinsonism

Abstract Aripiprazole, a novel neuroleptic and dopamine system stabilizer, is hailed as 3 rd generation neuroleptic by some and claimed to have partial agonistic activity at D2 receptors (D2R), distinguishing it from other antipsychotics-D2 dopamine receptor antagonists. Many studies have extensively described extrapyramidal syndrome (EPS) profiles of earlier atypical neuroleptics including clozapine, quetiapine, olanzapine, ziprasidone, and risperidone. Despite the claimed D2R agonistic mechanism, EPS due to aripiprazole is sporadically reported – here below we report two such cases across two different baselines. One in a patient with no baseline Parkinsonism, another in a patient with well controlled Parkinson’s disease.