Drug Therapy

• Antipsychotic drugs


  The most common treatment for schizophrenia
• Antipsychotics


  • Can be taken in tablet form or by injection
  • Do not cure schizophrenia, but tend to be effective at reducing the symptoms
  • Can be divided into typical and atypical antipsychotics
• Typical antipsychotics


  Developed in the 1950s, include Chlorpromazine
• Typical antipsychotics


  • Dopamine antagonists
  • Block the activity of dopamine in the brain by binding to dopamine receptors
  • Effective at reducing the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and delusions
  • Effective sedatives
• Atypical antipsychotics


  Developed in the 1990s, include Clozapine
• Atypical antipsychotics


  • Effective at reducing both the positive and the negative symptoms of schizophrenia
  • Bind to dopamine, serotonin and glutamate receptors
  • Help to improve mood
  • Sometimes prescribed when a patient is considered at high risk of suicide
• 30 - 50% of people suffering from schizophrenia attempt suicide at some point