drug therapy

• biological therapy - drugs used to treat sz
• two types of antipsychotics - typical and atypical
• typical - developed in 1950s - lots of side effects - act upon dopamine receptors - adults only
• symptoms typical - dry mouth - blurred vision - dizziness - muscle spasms - cramps
• atypical - act on serotonin and dopamine receptors - children and adults - 1970s - treat both positive and negative symptoms
• drug therapies - more effective at reducing positive symptoms - very succesful - most widely used form of treatment
• negatives - less helpful for negative symptoms - ethical issues - short and long term side effects - clinical truals - treats symptoms not causes
• typical example - chloroprozamine
• atypical example - clozapine
• pros - quick - cheap - widely avalible