Medical use
A 2018 Cochrane review found that fluphenazine was an imperfect treatment and other inexpensive drugs less associated with side effects may be an equally effective choice for people with schizophrenia. Side effects
Discontinuation
The British National Formulary recommends a gradual withdrawal when discontinuing antipsychotics to avoid acute withdrawal syndrome or rapid relapse. Symptoms of withdrawal commonly include nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Other symptoms may include restlessness, increased sweating, and trouble sleeping. Less commonly there may be a feeling of the world spinning, numbness, or muscle pains. Symptoms generally resolve after a short period of time.There is tentative evidence that discontinuation of antipsychotics can result in psychosis. It may also result in reoccurrence of the condition that is being treated. Rarely tardive dyskinesia can occur when the medication is stopped. Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Fluphenazine acts primarily by blocking post-synaptic D2 receptors in the basal ganglia, cortical and limbic system. It also blocks alpha-1 adrenergic receptors, muscarinic-1 receptors, and histamine-1 receptors. Pharmacokinetics
History
Fluphenazine came into use in 1959. Availability
The injectable form is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. It is available as a generic medication. It was discontinued in Australia in 2017. Veterinary
In horses, it is sometimes given by injection as an anxiety-relieving medication, though there are many negative common side effects and it is forbidden by many equestrian competition organizations. References
External links
"Fluphenazine". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Over many generations, the human body became well-adapted to a high level of iron content in the diet. Neolithic
In the Neolithic era, significant changes are thought to have occurred in both the environment and diet. Some communities of foragers migrated north, leading to changes in lifestyle and environment, with a decrease in temperatures and a change in the landscape which the foragers then needed to adapt to. As people began to develop and advance their tools, they learned new ways of producing food, and farming also slowly developed. These changes would have led to serious stress on the body and a decrease in the consumption of iron-rich foods. This transition is a key factor in the mutation of genes, especially those that regulated dietary iron absorption. Iron, which makes up 70% of red blood cell composition, is a critical micronutrient for effective thermoregulation in the body. Iron deficiency will lead to a drop in the core temperature. In the chilly and damp environments of Northern Europe, supplementary iron from food was necessary to keep temperatures regulated, however, without sufficient iron intake the human body would have started to store iron at higher rates than normal. In theory, the pressures caused by migrating north would have selected for a gene mutation that promoted greater absorption and storage of iron. Viking hypothesis
Studies and surveys conducted to determine the frequencies of haemochromatosis help explain how the mutation migrated around the globe. In theory, the disease initially evolved from travelers migrating from the north.