I must admit I prefer olanzapine despite the weight gain. I also take
amisulpride, which suits me. The only time I take haloperidol when
I'm psychotic in hospital it means I get a good rest.

Jac

--- In BAD_MD@..., "Azlan Adnan" <azlan088@...> wrote:
>
> Personally, I prefer risperidone and olanzapine over chlorpromazine
or haloperidol any
> time. But only because I haven't tried quetiapine or clozapine. How
about you?
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Dispute over schizophrenia drugs
>
> Older schizophrenia drugs may be as effective as the new generation
of medications,
> experts have suggested.
>
> A Manchester University study shows patients respond just as well,
and perhaps better, to
> the older ones.
>
> The Archives of General Psychiatry findings run contrary to the
widely held view that newer
> and dearer drugs are safer and more effective.
>
> But critics say the newer drugs are better and preferred by
patients because they have
> fewer side effects.
>
>
> "Second-generation anti-psychotics are not the great breakthrough
they were once
> thought to be"
> Professor Shôn Lewis
>
>
> The new UK results back similar work by US investigators who
recently suggested it might
> be better to switch back to prescribing the older drugs to cut
healthcare costs.
>
> The NHS funded the latest work to assess whether the bigger price
tag of newer "atypical"
> antipsychotics was offset by improvements in patients' quality of
life or reductions in the
> use of health and social care services.
>
> Atypical antipsychotics, which include risperidone, quetiapine,
clozapine and olanzapine,
> cost at least 10 times more than their predecessors.
>
> No advantage
>
> The Manchester team, along with colleagues from the University of
Cambridge, Institute of
> Psychiatry and Imperial College London, studied 227 schizophrenia
patients for whom a
> change in drug treatment was being considered because of
ineffectiveness or harmful side
> effects.
>
> Experienced doctors decided which type of antipsychotic - newer or
older - would be best
> for each patient.
>
> The patients were assessed before and 12, 26 and 52 weeks after
their drugs were
> switched, using measurements of quality of life, symptoms, side
effects, and satisfaction
> with the drug.
>
> Overall, the newer atypical drugs showed no advantage in side
effects or effectiveness.
>
> Lead researcher Professor Shôn Lewis suggested further trials to
evaluate the usefulness of
> cheaper, older drugs could potentially save the NHS millions of
pounds.
>
> He said: "Despite modern prescribing patterns, second-generation
anti-psychotics are not
> the great breakthrough they were once thought to be - and certainly
may not justify their
> 10-times higher price tag."
>
> A parallel trial, also funded by the NHS, did confirm previous
reports that one newer
> antipsychotic called clozapine stood out from the other atypicals
for treating severe
> schizophrenia.
>
> Informed choice
>
> Jo Loughran, of the mental health charity Rethink, said both types
of drugs old and new
> could bring different benefits and side effects for different
people.
>
> She said: "Atypical antipsychotic medicines should always be
considered in the first-line
> treatment of schizophrenia, and patients should be offered an
informed choice of
> medicines to suit them."
>
> The government's drugs watchdog NICE echoes this advice.
>
> However, it also says people with schizophrenia who are already
taking an older
> antipsychotic which is working for them should not switch to a
newer drug.
>
> Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity
SANE, warned it would be
> wrong to limit accessibility to news anti-psychotics.
>
> "What we hope is that the study will flag up the importance of
patients being able to look
> at the risks and benefits of different drugs, matched to their own
biochemistry, and that it
> will encourage the pharmaceutical companies in their current
research to develop third-
> generation medications."
>
> Story from BBC NEWS:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/6175992.stm
>
> Published: 2006/11/24 10:18:31 GMT
>
> © BBC MMVI
>