PSY3032 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Antipsychotic, Sexual Dysfunction, Dyskinesia
29 Oct 2018
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Schizophrenia - Chapter 6
Treatment of Schizophrenia
Medications
• In the 1950s antipsychotic drugs were found to help with the positive symptoms and
disorganization of schizophrenia
• Antipsychotic medication can be administered as tablets or capsules, or in an
injectable form.
o Injectable medications can be given for immediate short-term effect or as a long-
acting injectable (LAI) form that may last for up to three months.
• About 30 percent of people with schizophrenia do not respond favorably to the first-
generation antipsychotics; about half the people who take any antipsychotic drug quit
after one year, and up to three-quarters quit before two years
First-Generation Antipsychotic Drugs and their Adverse Effects
• They are the broad classes of medications that were first to be discovered
• These drugs can reduce the positive and disorganization symptoms of schizophrenia
but have little to no effect on the negative or cognitive symptoms
• They are not a cure
• People who respond positively to the antipsychotics are typically kept on so-called
maintenance doses of the drug to continue the therapeutic effect
• Some people who are maintained on medication may still have difficulty with day-to-
day functioning
• The commonly reported adverse effects of all antipsychotics include sedation,
dizziness, blurred vision, restlessness and sexual dysfunction
Document Summary
In the 1950s antipsychotic drugs were found to help with the positive symptoms and disorganization of schizophrenia: antipsychotic medication can be administered as tablets or capsules, or in an injectable form. Injectable medications can be given for immediate short-term effect or as a long- acting injectable (lai) form that may last for up to three months. About 30 percent of people with schizophrenia do not respond favorably to the first- generation antipsychotics; about half the people who take any antipsychotic drug quit after one year, and up to three-quarters quit before two years. In a neurological disturbance called tardive dyskinesia, the mouth muscles involuntarily make sucking, lip-smacking and chin-wagging motions. In this condition, which can sometimes be fatal, severe muscular rigidity develops, accompanied by fever. The heart races, blood pressure is unstable and the person may lapse into a coma.
