When Were Antipsychotics First Developed? Typical Antipsychotics
 		Atypical Antipsychotics Clozapine (clorazil) Clozapine v/s Newer Atypical Antipsychotics? Side Effects

Treatment of Schizophrenia: An Overview


 

What is the Most Common Way to Treat  the Symptoms of Schizophrenia?

      Statistics show that one third of patients  diagnosed with schizophrenia will not show symptoms again during their lives. Another third will have recurrent episodes, while the last third will have chronic schizophrenia. Along history, there have been a number of different types  of treatment for schizophrenia (read more about the history of schizophrenia and its treatment). Nowadays, most  patients with schizophrenia are treated with antipsychotic drugs, which are also known as neuroleptics. These drugs have the effect of eliminating or reducing psychotic symptoms in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.  These drugs  highly improve the patient's condition because hallucinations, delusional thoughts and other elements of psychosis symptoms are  some of the most disturbing symptoms (Carlson 2001)
 (Read more about psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia)

       Most patients treated with antipsychotic drugs are able to live relatively normal lives, though they usually have a hard time being employed.   The most significant consequence of treatment with antipsychotic drugs is that a large percentage of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia are no longer doomed to live their lives in psychiatric institutions.    Nowadays, most people with schizophrenia receive antipsychotic treatment on an outpatient basis.  

        The chart below shows the dramatic decrease in the percentage of hospitalized patients resulting from the introduction of antipsychotic drugs. However, there is a considerable percentage of patients (one third) whose symptoms are not improved by antipsychotic drugs. These patients are usually called treatment-refractory (Perry 2002) .  


                                                  Graph showing decrease in number of hospitalized patients after introduction of antipsychotic drugs




         <Previous     Next>
 Back to Treatment of Schizophrenia  index
  Back to Home Page



Image taken from  http://www.schizophrenia.com/research/#presentation