Antipsychotic drugs

[Lizzy Liz]

Psychosis refers to symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and speech, and bizarre and inappropriate motor behavior that indicate loss of contact with reality. A number of mental disorders cause symptoms of psychosis—see Introduction to Schizophrenia and Related Disorders.
Antipsychotic drugs can be effective in reducing or eliminating symptoms of psychosis. They appear to be most effective in treating hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and aggression. Although antipsychotic drugs are most commonly prescribed for schizophrenia, they appear to be effective in treating these symptoms whether they result from schizophrenia, mania, dementia, or use of a substance such as amphetamines.
After the immediate symptoms have cleared, depending on the cause of their psychosis, people may need to continue taking antipsychotic drugs to reduce the probability of future episodes.

[Julian]

Antipsychotic drugs are divided into conventional antipsychotics and 2nd-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) based on their specific neurotransmitter receptor affinity and activity. SGAs may offer some advantages, both in terms of modestly greater efficacy (although recent evidence casts doubt on SGAs