Two Cases of Hypersexuality Probably Associated with Aripiprazole
Ms B was a 36-year-old female patient diagnosed with schizophrenia about 10 years ago. She had obsessive-compulsive and avoidant personality traits. She had never engaged in sexual relationships or dated. Ms B suffered from persecutory delusions, auditory hallucinations, anxiety, and depressed mood. She has been prescribed haloperidol before and at our outpatient clinic, she had received risperidone 2-9 mg/day and fluoxetine 20-40 mg/day for 7 years. Due to weight gain, her medication was changed to aripiprazole 20 mg/day and fluoxetine 40 mg/day. After this medication change, she exhibited increased sexual urges and activities. For example, she engaged in masturbation and sexual fantasies, and watched pornographic materials more frequently. In addition, she sometimes experienced unprovoked spontaneous sexual urges toward strangers. Her new sexual behaviors made her quite embarrassed and she became anxious and guilty. Per patient's insistence, her medication was changed to risperidone quicklet 6 mg/day and maintained on fluoxetine 40 mg/day. Upon cessation of aripiprazole, her high libido level rapidly subsided to her baseline level.