Antipsychotics Research Paper

“Hallucinations and voices that caused schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders have been stopped with the use of new medications”. (MHT, 2) “Just as aspirin can reduce a fever without curing the infection that causes it, psychotherapeutic medications act by controlling symptoms,” (MFMI, 4). “Another advantage of these medications is an increased understanding of the causes of mental illness. Scientists investigate the results of the medications, and through these results, they have learned a great deal about the working of the brain system.” (MFMI, 4) The use of new drugs has made it possible for mentally ill persons to live a normal life.

One of the greatest concerns of psychotropic drug use in children and adolescents is that this type of medication is overprescribed. According to a report by the Food and Drug Administration, as of September 2009, “more than 500,000 children and adolescents in America are now taking antipsychotic drugs.” (Wilson, 2010) 500,000 is definitely a large number, but considering the fact that approximately one in ten children in the United States suffer from various mental illnesses, this number is actually quite low. The main reason people believe this medication is overprescribed is because many parents are simply looking for an easy way to quell their child’s hyperactivity. “’Families sometimes feel the need for a quick fix,’ Dr. Gleason said. ‘That’s often the prescription pad. But I’m concerned that when a child sees someone who prescribes but doesn’t do therapy, they’re closing the door that can make longer-lasting change.’” (Wilson, 2010)

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

One of the most debilitating, devastating, and incurable mental disorders is one that is plagued by severely abnormal functions, disturbed behaviors and the likelihood to seriously diminish nearly all functionality of life—this disorder is known as schizophrenia. While extremely rare, schizophrenia can develop in childhood, sometimes as young as two to four years. This is referred to as childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS). “Childhood-onset schizophrenia is a severe form of psychotic disorder that occurs at age 12 years or younger and is often chronic and persistently debilitating” (DSM-5). By a vast number of psychologists and other medical professionals, it is believed to be just as virulent and malicious as adolescent and adult schizophrenia. The DSM-5 criteria for child-onset schizophrenia requires at least two of the following five symptoms to be present for no less than a month, and at least one of these must be (1), (2), or (3): (1) delusions, (2) hallucinations, (3) disorganized speech, (4) grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, and (5) negative symptoms. Other criteria must include: a significantly lower level of functioning in other areas, such as work, interpersonal relations or self-care; the persistence of signs of disturbance for at least 6 months, including at least 1 month of symptoms that meet one of the five symptoms; the ruling out of schizoaffective disorder and depressive or bipolar disorder; and the exclusion of substance abuse or another medical

Childhood schizophrenia is a rare disease and it has become a big mystery in today’s medicine, bringing up several challenges. There are few official diagnoses of children with this disorder, and the case of January Schofield is one of the most studied ones. It is in essence the same as adult schizophrenia, but it appears early in life with a huge impact on child’s development. The identification of the symptoms and causes is vital, for the prevention and control, as well as following the right treatment. This complex disease requires a lifelong treatment, and doing this as soon as possible may significantly improve the individual’s quality life. The early

Schizophrenia is a mental illness which affects millions of people throughout the world. Scientists have begun to understand more and more about the possible causes, predisposing factors, types, and possible treatments for schizophrenia. (Torrey, 1995) It is very rare for schizophrenic symptoms to appear before the age of 12 but it does occur. Recently, there has been a growing interest in childhood schizophrenia. It is less than one-sixtieth as common as the adult-onset type but the characteristics are very similar. Childhood schizophrenia also tends to be harder to treat and to have a worse prognosis than the adult-onset form. (Rapoport, 1997)

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.

Approximately 22% of the American population suffers from some kind of mental disorder at any given time. (Passer and Smith, 2004) Schizophrenia is one of the most serious of these mental disorders, and there are many different kinds of treatment. While all mental disorders offer diagnosis and treatment challenges, few are more challenging than schizophrenia. It is both bizarre and puzzling, and has been described as “one of the most challenging disorders to treat effectively.” (Passer and Smith, 2004, 534)

Covers, C. (2009). Second-generation versus first-generation antipsychotic drugs for Schizophrenia. Retrieved March 16, 2011 from

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.

In this study, the participants used were twenty-four males between the ages of 18 and 56. They were brought from the VA Greater LA Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) and they met the DSM criteria for schizophrenia. “Subjects were clinically stable as indicated by: no psychiatric hospitalizations in the past 6 months; adherent to antipsychotic medication with dosages not varying by >25% over 3 months prior to participation; at least 6 months since any indication of potential danger to self or others; no acute medical problems; and chronic medical conditions consistently treated and stable for >3 months. Exclusion criteria were mental retardation; treatment with

Imagine not knowing the difference of what is real and what’s not. Let’s say a girl is out with her friends and family and she can’t tell if someone is actually calling her name or if she is just being delusional. Envision that girl watching a television series but all she can see is a specific message threatening her, that is only meant for her. That is how people with psychosis view and experience everything. So, what is Psychosis? Psychosis is a mental disorder in which you lose contact with reality. It is when you have trouble realizing what’s real and not. Immediate treatment is always recommended for someone who is beginning to experience or experiencing psychosis. The earlier psychosis is treated, the better the long-term results usually

The present clinical treatment strategies (pharmacological, psychosocial, family intervention) for child onset schizophrenia (COS) are varied and abundant but very costly because of its rarity and the number of sites required to research the disease (Asarnow, Thompson & McGrath, 2004). Let it be noted that remission of COS is rare but it is the goal of research to accomplish. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry places emphasis on antipsychotic medication, psychoeducation, psychotherapy, and social educational programs (Asarnow et al., 2004). Antipsychotic medication falls into two categories “novel” and “conventional” (Remington, Martin, Jain, Baskys & Dickey, 1999, p. 55). The “novel” category contains risperidone, clozapine, quetiapine, and olanzapine. The “conventional” contains haloperidol, loxapine, molindone, pimozide chlorpromazine, and piperidine (Remington, Martin, Jain, Baskys & Dickey, 1999, p. 55). The in-depth discussion of all these is beyond the scope of this short paper and only contains a few of these medications.

However, empirical evidence to support this is inconsistent. In one systematic review of meta-analyisis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of at least 12 months duration comparing AP LAIs with OAPs for schizophrenia, AP LAIs were found to significantly reduce rates of relapse (Leucht et al., 2011). However, in a later, larger meta-analysis, no significant differences were detected for combined or individual antipsychotics (Kishimoto et al., 2014). It is possible that this discrepancy has arisen due to the inclusion of more recent studies and those of shorter duration in the latter meta-analysis. In contrast, studies more closely reflecting clinical practice demonstrate more consistent findings. A meta-analysis of non-randomized prospective and retrospective observation studies found AP LAIs significantly more effective in preventing relapse than OAPs (Kirson et al., 2012). This is supported by a systematic review and meta-analysis of mirror-image studies in which AP LAIs demonstrated superiority over OAPs in reducing psychiatric hospitalisations, a measure of relapse (Kishimoto, Nitta, Borenstein, Kane & Correll, 2013). Reducing relapse and particularly, hospitalisations, is of importance as Victorian prison-based mental health units and only secure mental health hospital are significantly over-burdened and have lengthy waiting times (Brouwer, 2014).

The atypical antipsychotics or second generation antipsychotics (SGA) are a group of antipsychotics that were introduced in the clinical practice during the early 1990. All over world these agents are most commonly prescribed for Schizophrenia and other illnesses with psychotic symptoms. This article will focus on brief overview of the atypical antipsychotics as a class and brief description of selected atypical antipsychotics.