Evaluation

• Strength: research shows efficacy of antipsychotics

  Thornley et al. reviewed data from 13 trials and found that clorpromazine was associated with better functioning and reduced symptom severity compared with placebo. There iOS also support for the benefits of atypical antipsychotics Meltzer et al. concluded that clozapine is more effective than typical antipsychotics, and that it is 30-50% more effective in treatment-resistant cases. Therefore the evidence suggests that antipsychotics are reasonably effective
• Limitation: side effects

  Typical antipsychotics are associated with dizziness, agitation, sleepiness, weight gain, etc. Long-term use can lead to lip-smacking and grimacing due to dopamine super-sensitivity, The most serious side effect is neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) caused by blocking dopamine action in the hypothalamus (can be fatal due to disrupted regulation of several body systems). Atypical antipsychotics were developed to reduce side effects but some still exist and this is a serious limitation of antipsychotic drug therapies
• Limitation: theoretical objection to their use

  The use of these drugs is strongly tied up with the dopamine hypothesis and the idea that there are higher than usual levels of dopamine in the subcortex in the brain. But there is evidence that this may not be correct and that dopamine levels in other parts of the brain are too low rather than too high. If so, antipsychotics shouldn't work. This has undermined the faith of some people that any positive effects are actually due to the pharmacological effects of antipsychotics
• Limitation: antipsychotic drugs might be a chemical 'cosh'

  Antipsychotics may have been used in hospital situations to calm patients and make them easier for stall to work with, rather than to benefit the patient themselves. Short-term use of antipsychotics to calm patients is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). However, this practice is seen by some as a human rights' abuse. This raises ethical issues in the use of antipsychotic drugs with schizophrenia patients