Evaluation of biological therapies for Sz

• strengths

  • evidence for effectiveness
  • advantages of atypical over typical antipsychotics
• limitations

  • serious side effects
  • motivational deficits
• evidence for effectiveness

  Leuch et al. (2012)- carried out a meta-analysis involving nearly 6000 patients- some taken off their antipsychotic medication and given a placebo instead. the remaining patients remained on their regular antipsychotics. within 12 months, 64% if placebo patients had relapsed, compared to 27% of those who stayed on the antipsychotic drug
• evidence for effectiveness COUNTER

  some successful trials have had their data published multiple times, exaggerating the evidence for positive effects. it is also suggested that because antipsychotics have powerful calming effects, it is easy to demonstrate that they have some positive effect on patients. this is not the same as saying they really reduce the severity of psychotics
• advantages of atypical over typical antipsychotics

  a key advantage of typical antipsychotics is that patients experience fewer side effects- less likely to result in movement problems commonly found with typical antipsychotics

  as a result patients are more likely to continue with their medication, which in turn means they are more likely to see a reduction in their symptoms
• advantages of typical over atypical antipsychotics COUNTER

  Crossley et al. (2010)- carried out meta-analysis to examine efficacy and side effects of atypical drugs. found that although atypical antipsychotics did reduce side effects there was no significant differences between atypical and typical drugs in terms of their effect on symptoms of schizophrenia
• serious side effects

  typical antipsychotic drugs can sometimes produce movement problems for the patients

  the most common are the Parkensonian and relates symptoms- they resemble features of the neurological disorder Parkinson’s disease (PD). more than half of the patients taking typical antipsychotics experience these symptoms. when taken for an extended period can lead to dyskinesia= involuntary movements of the tongue, face and jaw
• motivational deficits

  it is argued that when people are prescribed antipsychotic medication, it reinforces the view that there is ‘something wrong with them’

  this prevents the individual from thinking about possible stressors (such as life history or current circumstances) that might be contributing to their condition. in turn this reduces their motivation to look for possible solutions that might alleviate these stressors and reduce their suffering

  as human misery is largely inflicted by other people then the best solutions are usually human interventions, rather than chemical