Leuchetal. (2012) carried out a meta-analysisinvolvingnearly6000patients where some were takenoff their antipsychoticmedication and given a placeboinstead
The remainingpatients continued taking their regularantipsychotics
Within12months, 64% of placebo patients had relapsed, compared to 27% of those who stayed on the antipsychoticdrug
HOWEVER - somesuccessfultrials have had the datapublishedmultipletimes, exaggerating the evidence for positiveeffects
Pharmacies also fund the research
Strength = advantages of atypical over typical antipsychotics
A keyadvantage of atypicalantipsychotics is that patientsexperiencefewersideeffects - lesslikely to result in movementproblemscommon with typicalantipsychotics
Patients are thereforemorelikely to continue with their medication, meaning a reduction in their symptoms is morelikely
HOWEVER - Crossleyetal. (2010) carried out a meta-analysis to examineefficacy and sideeffects of atypicaldrugs
Foundnosignificantdifference between atypical and typicaldrugs in terms of effect on symptoms
Limitation = serious side effects
Typicalantipsychotics can sometimesproducemovement problems for the patient
The mostcommon are Parkinsonian and relatedsymptoms - resemblefeatures of the neurologicaldisorderParkinson’sdisease
More than half of the patientstakingtypicalantipsychoticsexperience these symptoms
When taken for an extended period can lead to dyskinesia = involuntary movements of the tongue, face and jaw
Limitation = motivational deficits
It is argued that whenpeople are prescribedantipsychoticmedication, it reinforces the view there is ’somethingwrong with them’
This prevents the individual from thinkingaboutpossiblestressors that might be contributing to their condition
In turn this reduces their motivation to look for possiblesolutions that might alleviatethesestressors and reduce their suffering
Bestsolution may be humanintervention rather than chemical