The Effects of Antipsychotic Medications in Schizophrenic Patients

By taking the time and educating ourselves, we are eliminating possible misconceptions about the illness. Working with people that have a mental disorder is the best way to understand how and why they act the way they do. While the cause of schizophrenia is still unknown, it is believed that both genetics and environmental factors play a role. Schizophrenia consists of five subtypes; paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual. Symptoms can range from hallucinations to delusions, and disorganized thinking. Since there is no cure for schizophrenia, treatment is aimed at controlling the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. By starting with a single antipsychotic medication and evaluating the efficacy in four to six weeks, they are able to determine if that medication will work or if they need to try a different one. Once they find out what works, they must adhere to it. Through improved public awareness society can break the pervasive stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illnesses that stand in the way of finding cures and help people with schizophrenia lead full lives they

The intention is to show schizophrenics that their hallucinations are not real. As yet, however, there is no evidence that this will provide a successful treatment.

Recent studies indicate that limiting the use of certain medications can improve a senior's life. One study, conducted by researchers at Indiana University, finds that the prolonged use of anticholinergics may cause physical changes within the brain that could lead to dementia. Furthermore, The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) released information related to a program it started in 2014: This study examined how the discontinuation of antipsychotic medications affected the seniors who were taking them to treat dementia. The results indicate that seniors’ lives may improve when antipsychotic medications (that are being used to treat dementia) are discontinued.

It is not hard to find depictions of people living with poorly treated schizophrenia. The first treatment for schizophrenia was discovered 50 years ago by accident and treatment has remained largely unchanged since then (Moghaddam & Javitt, 2012). The documentary film from 1996, “Back from Madness: A struggle for sanity” in part depicts a woman named Naomi, who in many ways exhibits the traditional onset of symptoms and subsequent treatment. She was a college aged woman at the time, who seemingly randomly began “hearing voices from the sky”. She chose to seek help and was prescribed clozapine, which is considered to be the most effective antipsychotic currently on the market (Moghaddam & Javitt, 2012). When this treatment was shown to be uneffective, Naomi

Someone with schizophrenia has a great difficulty maneuvering through everyday social interactions, specifically interpersonal relationships. There is a “loss of life roles”, where it is hard to decipher where oneself and others fit in to social settings (Browne & Courtney, 2007, p. 74). Social networks are weakened soon after the onset of schizophrenia. The importance of immediate and extended family increases in response to the need for “positive, supportive, reciprocating relationships” (Browne & Courtney, 2007, p. 77). Positive, social interactions are supportive for schizophrenic episodes but they cannot cure them.

As we have seen, treatment of schizophrenia with antipsychotic drugs can have impressive results in terms of decreasing active symptoms, although it does nothing to alleviate negative symptoms or to improve cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, this kind of treatment has the drawback of extremely serious and even fatal side-effects. Newer generation atypical antipsychotics offer more hope, as they can treat both active and negative symptoms, and also improve cognitive functioning. Moreover, they have fewer side-effects. However, treatment is complicated by the fact that results are unpredictable; and in addition the side-effects that they do have can be very serious, such as diabetes, which in itself is life-threatening. However, as the potential side-effects are known, the physician has leeway to choose a drug which is a good match for the patient’s clinical profile. Then, once the patient’s symptoms have been much alleviated with an appropriate newer generation atypical antipsychotic, the patient should be able to also benefit from a range of psychotherapeutic interventions. It is argued that this is the best treatment regime to choose, as it is likely to result in the greatest improvement in quality of life, coupled with the lowest risk of potentially devastating side-effects, or of death. This is likely to be better than utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy, the results of which are not reliably known – although research has certainly shown that it is less efficacious

The introduction of Clozapine, marked a turning point in the treatment of schizophrenia, as the first "atypical" antipsychotic drug lacking the propensity to produce ‘extra-pyramidal symptoms’ (associated with the older antipsychotic agents) (Kane et al. 1988). Even though, Clozapine has not conclusively demonstrated its significantly superior record or efficacy for psychosis (Gardner et al. 2005), it has proven exceptional effectiveness, compared to other more traditional antipsychotics (Claghorn et al. 1987). However, Kane et al. (1988) and others have concluded, 30–60% of all schizophrenic patients who fail to respond to typical antipsychotics may respond therapeutically/effectively to Clozapine (Breier et al. (1994) & Iqbal et al. (2003)). This is especially apparent for refractory schizophrenia (Kane et al. 1988), treatment-resistant schizoaffective disorders (Zarate et al. 1995) and aggression (Cohen & Underwood, 1994).

Schizophrenia is a disease that has plagued societies around the world for centuries, although it was not given its formal name until 1911. It is characterized by the presence of positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are so named because of the presence of altered behaviors, such as delusions, hallucinations (usually auditory), extreme emotions, excited motor activity, and incoherent thoughts and speech. (1,2) In contrast, negative symptoms are described as a lack of behaviors, such as emotion, speech, social interaction, and action. (1,2) These symptoms are by no means concrete. Not all schizophrenic patients will exhibit all or even a majority of these symptoms, and there is some

Antipsychotics are generally used to treat psychosis in mental disorders. These disorders include schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (Thyssen et al., 2010). Risperidone is known as an atypical second generation antipsychotic and used in the treatment of a multitude of disorders. This medication can often challenge behavioral problems that are associated with schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Schatzberg & Nemeroff, 2013). It is important for the prescriber to be aware of the side effect and any possible adverse reactions that may occur. There can be many detrimental side effects that someone may not enjoy,

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder often characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to recognize what is real. Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory hallucinations, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and lack of motivation. Diagnosis is based on observed behavior and the person 's reported experiences. Genetics and early environment, as well as psychological and social processes, appear to be important contributory factors. Some recreational and prescription drugs appear to cause or worsen symptoms. The many possible combinations of symptoms have triggered debate about whether the diagnosis represents a single disorder or a number of separate syndromes. Despite the

The aim of the study is to examine the effects of a cognitive remediation program on schizophrenia symptoms. As more than a hundred people with schizophrenia have participated, I had the opportunity to apply to them the cognitive remediation program which was developed in our Unit as well as all the appropriate clinical and cognitive evaluation tests mentioned in my CV. Participating in this research has been a rewarding experience as it gave me the knowledge, skills and confidence to explore the field of clinical psychology. Moreover, it has given me a better perception of what goes into research, enable me to write and speak on an academic level and increased my confidence in pursuing my goals. Working at the hospital I had the opportunity to interact and collaborate with health care professionals always showed support and interest in me as well as my efforts. My goal was to enhance my educational background through this study, but what I gained surpassed my expectations. I was able to see not only the result of my hard work but also why it

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia treatment has developed to have two specific classes of drugs, typical antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics. Typical antipsychotics were the first type of drugs to be used on schizophrenia patients. They are also known as the ‘first-generation’ drugs. Atypical antipsychotics, or ‘second-generation’ drugs are newer drugs that are now often used in replacement of the ‘first-generation’ drugs. However this progression of drug treatment for schizophrenia patients has shown little change in effectiveness as studies were unable to find distinct difference. The only real difference between the two can be seen in their prices and side effects. Although, the typical antipsychotics have now tapped into the fast-growing generic drug

Antipsychotics are classified as major tranquilizers that are used to treat mental health illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses. They can also treat severe depression and severe anxiety. These antipsychotics drugs reduce or increase the effect of neurotransmitters in the brain to regulate levels that help transfer information throughout the brain. The neurotransmitters that are affected are the serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline.

A 2010 study tested the effectiveness of a new FDA approved atypical antipsychotic medication Lurasidone. The researchers performed four six week clinical trials to test the