State of the art of drug treatment of schizophrenia and the future position of the novel/atypical antipsychotics

Abstract

Neuroleptic medication is the most important part of the treatment regimen for schizophrenic patients. The efficacy of neuroleptics in the acute and long-term treatment of schizophrenia is very well proven and the effect size is comparatively high. After more than 40 years of clinical practice with the classical neuroleptics, several more or less generally accepted rules for the management of drug treatment in schizophrenia have been established. The paper aims to describe these standards, discussing, among other things, developments which have appeared in the last 10 to 20 years, e.g. the tendency to a lower daily dose during acute treatment and the tendency to alternative strategies during long-term treatment. The paper especially also takes into consideration the benefits of the novel/atypical antipsychotics as compared to the classical neuroleptics, which will change the current treatment standards under several aspects--a change which is already ongoing. The novel/atypical antipsychotics will be much better accepted by patients, thus leading to increased compliance, will be associated with a better quality of life and will possibly change the long-term outcome of schizophrenic patients in a very important manner. It should be considered that the so-called novel/atypical neuroleptics do not constitute a homogeneous group but are a group of individual drugs, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. As was the situation with the classical neuroleptics, the physician also has to choose the most adequate drug under consideration of the risk/benefit profile of each drug in relation to the disposition of the individual patient.