At the time of this review , seven AAPs were available in Canada : aripiprazole clozapine olanzapine paliperidone quetiapine risperidone ziprasidone
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that requires lifelong treatment and is associated with symptoms that include hallucinations , delusions , cognitive impairment , disorganized thoughts , social withdrawal , and low motivation .
Antipsychotic medications are effective at relieving the symptoms of schizophrenia , and they form the foundation of treatment .
Adverse Effects and Laboratory Parameters of High-Dose Olanzapine vs. Clozapine in Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia
Patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia pose a major challenge to caregivers since only clozapine is documented as having superior efficacy in this population . Although olanzapine is similar to clozapine in structure and receptor profile , it has not been proven to have superior efficacy for this patient group . Nonetheless , olanzapine is being increasingly used in higher doses as clinicians attempt to find a more effective and tolerable therapy for refractory patients . Furthermore , there are little data comparing olanzapine and clozapine in this population . Thirteen patients participated in a r and omized double-blind 16-week crossover study of  clozapine therapy ( 450 mg/day ) compared to high doses of olanzapine ( 50 mg/day ) . No patients on olanzapine responded while 20 % responded to clozapine treatment . Olanzapine patients tended to experience higher rates of anticholinergic effects such as dry mouth ( 80 vs. 20 % ) and blurry vision ( 40 vs. 0 % ) . Clozapine-treated patients had higher rates of sialorrhea ( 80 vs. 10 % ) , sweating ( 50 vs. 10 % ) , dyspepsia ( 70 vs. 30 % ) , and lethargy ( 90 vs. 60 % ) . Neither treatment was associated with significant akathisia . Liver enzyme elevation and lipids were higher with clozapine treatment . Mean weight gain in the initial 8 weeks was 3.4 kg for olanzapine and 1.2 kg for clozapine . High doses of olanzapine during 8 weeks of treatment did not increase lipids and liver enzymes like clozapine did . Olanzapine at 50 mg/day may be associated with more anticholinergic effects and weight gain than clozapine
At the time of this review , seven AAPs were available in Canada : aripiprazole clozapine olanzapine paliperidone quetiapine risperidone ziprasidone
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that requires lifelong treatment and is associated with symptoms that include hallucinations , delusions , cognitive impairment , disorganized thoughts , social withdrawal , and low motivation .
Antipsychotic medications are effective at relieving the symptoms of schizophrenia , and they form the foundation of treatment .