The Choice of Antipsychotic Drugs for Schizophrenia

July 2005 The Choice of Antipsychotic Drugs for Schizophrenia A large study funded by NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides, for the first time, detailed information comparing the effectiveness and side effects of five medications -- both new and older medications -- that are currently used to treat people with schizophrenia. Overall, the medications were comparably effective but were associated with high rates of discontinuation due to intolerable side effects or failure to adequately control symptoms. One new medication, olanzapine, was slightly better than the other drugs but also was associated with significant weight-gain and metabolic changes. Surprisingly . . .