This page was translated automatically from Turkish. Read the original

This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

Hyperbolic tapering: hype or science?

Hyperbolic tapering - hype or science?

The main rationale for hyperbolic tapering is the nonlinear relationship between a drug’s dose and its effect; clinical evidence is limited but does exist, and further studies are underway.

This talk examines the scientific basis for hyperbolic tapering in the discontinuation of psychotropic medications (deprescribing). Hyperbolic tapering means reducing a medication’s dose by a fixed percentage of the preceding dose; the aim is to reduce its pharmacological effect linearly, thereby decreasing the frequency and severity of withdrawal symptoms. The primary rationale for this approach is that drug effects follow the Law of Mass Action—that is, the relationship between drug concentration and drug effect is nonlinear. Clinical evidence supporting hyperbolic tapering is limited but does exist, and studies to establish the value of this approach are ongoing. There is also strong support from online support groups, whose members report finding through trial and error that hyperbolic tapering reduces the severity of withdrawal symptoms and increases the likelihood of stopping medication completely. The talk emphasizes that deprescribing is a core skill for all prescribers.

All WCP 2026 summaries