Treatment of schizophrenia

Antipsychotic drugs reduce some of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, including hyperactivity, bizarre ideation, hallucinations, and delusions. Overall efficacy of the antipsychotic drugs is, for the most part, equivalent in terms of the management of the floridly psychotic forms of the illness, although individual patients may respond best to a specific drug. However, clozapine is effective in some schizophrenic patients resistant to treatment with other antipsychotic drugs. ll of the antipsychotic drugs can reduce the hallucinations and delusions associated with schizophrenia (the so-called “positive” symptoms) by blocking dopamine receptors in the mesolimbic system of the brain.All of the drugs also have a calming effect and reduce spontaneous physical movement. In contrast to the (CNS) depressants, such as barbiturates, the antipsychotics do not depress the intellectual functioning of the patient as much, and motor coordination difficulties are minimal. The antipsychotic effects usually take several days to weeks to occur, suggesting that the therapeutic effects are related to secondary changes in the corticostriatal pathways.