Psychopharmacologic treatment of pathologic aggression

The article reviews the drug treatment of pathologic aggressive behavior, a heterogeneous phenomenon found In a wide range of psychiatric and neurological disorders. It appears that several drugs are effective and superior to placebo in treating pathologic aggression. Traditional antipsychotics and benzodiazepines can reduce agitation and aggression, but they fan also induce behavioral disinhibition and their effects appear to be modest. Atypical antipsychotics ate promising agents in the management of aggressive patients. Psychostimulants seem to be effective in reducing aggressiveness primarily in brain-injured patients as well as in violent adolescents with attention deficit disorder and/or conduct disorder. Finally, antidepressants, particularly those with relative selective serotonin reuptake blocking action, are the treatment of choice for aggressiveness and hostility among patients with unipolar depression and may be effective in reducing irritability and aggression in other psychiatric conditions as well. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the efficacy of these drugs in the treatment of pathologic aggressive behavior across different neuropsychiatric conditions.