Introduction: Cariprazine is a third-generation antipsychotic approved in Europe in
2017 for the treatment of schizophrenia. It presents distinct pharmacodynamic properties,
such as D3/D2 partial agonism, preferential binding to D3 receptors, antagonism at
the serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B receptors, partial agonism at 5-HT1A receptors, and
low affinity to other receptors (including noradrenergic, histaminergic, and cholinergic).
It has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of positive and negative symptoms of
schizophrenia with a safe side effect and metabolic profile. Methods: Here, we describe
one clinical case of a patient that benefited from an add-on of cariprazine to a regimen
of clozapine; and two clinical cases of patients that benefited from the switch from
clozapine and paliperidone long-acting injectable to cariprazine. Results and Discussion:
Those cases illustrate how cariprazine can be used in patients with schizophrenia
in the treatment of both positive and negative symptoms, and when aiming to ameliorate
the metabolic burden associated with other treatments. However, further studies are
needed to consubstantiate those findings.
