Drug therapies

• Anti-psychotic drugs


  Aim to reunite a person with reality. There are 2 different types of drug used to treat schizophrenia and these include typical antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics.
• Typical Anti-psychotic drugs


  They are first generation drugs (1950's) such as chlorpromazine. They bind to D2 receptors to prevent too much dopamine being absorbed by the D2 receptors. Anti-psychotics block the D2 receptor which stops dopamine reaching them and therefore reduces neurones involved in delusions and hallucinations. Overall, they work by acting as a strong dopamine antagonists in the dopamine system which is a drug that binds to the dopamine receptor to block its action and reduce levels of dopamine reaching the post-synaptic neuron.
• Atypical Anti-psychotics drugs


  The aim of them is to improve the effectiveness of drugs in suppressing psychoses such as schizophrenia and also to minimise the side effects, they typically target a range of neurotransmitters including dopamine and serotonin. Therefore, they also treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The 2 main examples of atypical anti-psychotic drugs are Clozapine and Risperidone.
• Clozapine


  They bind to dopamine receptors as chlorpromazine does but also acts on serotonin and Glutamate receptors. This drug was more effective than typical antipsychotics as clozapine reduces depression and anxiety in patients as well as improving cognitive functioning. It also improves mood, which is important as up to 50% of people suffering from schizophrenia attempt suicide.
• Risperidone


  Developed because clozapine was involved in the deaths of some patients from a blood condition called agranulocytosis (a severe decrease in white blood cells, which can lead to infection and death). Risperidone like clozapine binds to dopamine and serotonin receptors, but Risperidone binds more to dopamine and is therefore more effective in smaller doses than most antipsychotics and has fewer side effects.
• Strength of biological treatments

  Evidence shows that anti-psychotics are effective from Thornley et al who reviewed data from 13 trials and found that chlorpromazine significantly helped patients as it led to better functioning and reduced symptom severity compared with a placebo. Furthermore, Meltzer et al concluded that clozapine is 30-50% more effective than typical antipsychotics in treating resistant cases. Therefore, the evidence suggests that antipsychotics are reasonably effective.
• Strength of Biological Treatments

  There is additional supporting research evidence to suggest atypical antipsychotic drugs are also effective. Meltzer et al concluded that Clozapine is more effective in 20-50% of treatment resistant cases where typical anti-psychotics in the treatment of Schizophrenia, meaning clozapine may be a better drug treatment for Schizophrenia compared to chlorpromazine.
• Limitation of Biological treatments

  Produce side effects. This is because long-term use of typical anti-psychotics can lead to tardive dyskinesia (involuntary muscle movement) due to dopamine super-sensitivity and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. NMS is caused by blocking dopamine action in the hypothalamus; which can be fatal. Atypical antipsychotics were developed as a result but Clozapine still produces fatal side effects such as agranulocytosis. This suggests that psychological treatments which do not induce this level of harm may be more promising alternative for treatment.
• Limitation of Biological treatments


  Other treatments may be more clinically successful. This is because anti-psychotics only reduce Schizophrenic symptoms, rather than tackling the underlying cause. For example, if a patient stops taking their medication, their Schizophrenia symptoms may reappear resulting in the patient becoming reliant on the drug to function normally. This suggests psychological therapies, such as CBT, which tackle the underlying causes of Schizophrenia are more successful than drug therapies.