Health Promotion : Atypical Antipsychotic And Weight Gain

Mental health has been a recurring topic in present society and it is a very large section of health care in general. Health can be termed as an absence of disease, but it really is much more than that and should encompass every facet of the human, mind and body. The WHO defines mental health as a state of well-being in which an individual can function properly and productively, cope with life stressors, and contribute to community. Mental health is dependent on many factors, mainly social, biological, and psychological (WHO). A mental disorder is a condition of alterations

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

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.

Since schizophrenia may not be a single condition and its caused are still unknown, current treatment methods are based on both clinical research and experience. These approaches are chosen on the basis of their ability to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia and to lessen the chances that symptoms will return. Antipsychotic medications reduce the risk of future psychotic episode in-patients who have recovered from an acute episode. Even with continued drug treatment, some people who have recovered will suffer relapses. Far higher rates are seen when medication in discontinued. In most cases; it would not be accurate to say that continued drug treatment "prevents" relapses; rather it reduces their intensity and frequency. The treatment of severe psychotic symptom reappear on a lower dosage, a temporary increase in dosage may prevent a full-blown relapse. (http://nimh.nih.gov/publicat/schizoph.htm), National Institute of Mental Health

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

Traditional antipsychotics are good at reducing the positive symptoms, but do not reduce the negative symptoms and are classified in low-potency and high-potency which can cause many side effects like; dry mouth, tremors, weight gain, muscle tremors, stiffness, motor disturbances, parkinsonian effects, akathisia, dystonia, akinesia, tardive dyskinesia, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome.

Many antipsychotic medications cause weight gain in the consumers that are required to utilise them. One particular antipsychotic, clozapine, is known to be extremely effective in assisting treatment-resistant consumers; however it brings a high risk of developing metabolic syndrome due to dyslipidaemia, changes to glycaemic control and the enormous weight gain experienced with its use. A study conducted by Lamberti et al (2006, p. 1274) found that 53.8% of clozapine consumers participating had developed metabolic syndrome since commencement of the drug.

“New Approach Advised to Treat Schizophrenia,” submitted by the New York Times discusses the results of a government-funded study that calls for a new more effective way to treat schizophrenia. More than two million in the United States have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, with the usual treatment that mainly involves strong doses of antipsychotic drugs. These drugs help to blunt hallucinations and delusions. Unfortunately, a lot of these drugs come with side effects such as weight gain or tremors.

This study investigates the impact of long injectable antipsychotic on medication adherence and clinical, Functional and economic outcomes of schizophrenia. The debilitating chronic disease of schizophrenia involves lifelong medical treatment as well as periodic follow up on the treatment. The study suggests that 80% of patients relapse within the first 5 years and this is the period where patients experience majority of cognitive and psycho-social deterioration. Although medications are available to help alleviate the symptoms, majority of patients are non compliant especially when it comes to oral medication. Many studies have been done comparing the relapse, cost, functional outcome, and tolerability and hospitalization rate of

In another study by Swartz et al. (2007), there were improvements found in the psychosocial functioning of patients in all phases of their treatment course. The study examined fourteen hundred and ninety-three patients, who were randomly assigned antipsychotics (randomly assigned to receive either olanzapine, perphenaizine, quetiapine, risperidone, or ziprasidone) and assessed using the Quality of Life Scale. After six months, patients showed an improvement in psychosocial functioning, as well as by 18 months.

Anxiety can result in many things in a human. One of these things includes Binge Eating Disorder (BED). 2% of men and 3.5% of women in the U.S. are affected by Binge Eating Disorder. This disorder does not always happen to a random individual though. It is actually typically passed down through genetics. A binge eating disorder, also referred to as BED, is a recurrent consumption of unusually large amounts of food. When this takes place, a feeling of loss of control is also occurring. BED is associated greatly with obesity and also high rates of anxiety. Binge eating actually develops in an attempt to regulate anxiety while anxiety also predicts BED. BED cannot predict anxiety disorders

Mental illness is affecting people worldwide. After viewing the video “innovation in mental Health” I was shocked about the horrifying life experiences that these individuals go through to cope with others in society. I am thankful that the ministry of Health takes up the initiative in catering for people who experiences metal illness. The speaker in the video “what they don’t tell you about mental illness,” mentioned that the society don’t like to discuss about mental illness but it’s something that is affecting the lives of many. The changes can come from us by simply opening our heart to someone who’s desperately in need of help and to not just promise someone that we will be there in times of need but physical reached out for that particular

AP LAIs are consistently recommended in clinical practice guidelines and expert opinion to be considered when there are concerns regarding adherence to oral antipsychotics (OAPs) (Galletly et al., 2016, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2014). It is proposed that AP LAIs offer several advantages. Assessing adherence to OAPs in clinical practice can burdensome and unreliable, whereas AP LAIs ensure that adherence can be objectively measured (Sreeraj, Shivakumar, Rao & Venkatasubramanian, 2017). Whilst they do not guarantee adherence as a consumer may still refuse, AP LAIs allow clinicians to readily detect non-adherence and intervene promptly, before a deterioration in mental state may occur (Kane, Kishimoto & Correll,

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.

Antipsychotic agents can be classified in several ways. Generally, they can be designated as older drugs (often called conventional or “typical” antipsychotics) and newer ones are “atypicals.”