title: Schizophrenia in late life.
abstract: Antipsychotics, whether conventional or atypical, are the primary class of medications for the treatment of late-life psychosis. Although the efficacy of neuroleptics in controlling agitation and psychosis associated with late-life dementia has been established, evidence for their efficacy in treating core symptoms of late-life schizophrenia other than behavioral dyscontrol is just emerging. More controlled clinical trials are needed. The available data suggest that atypical neuroleptics are therapeutically efficacious, with a more favorable side-effect profile than conventional neuroleptics. This literature further suggests the importance of low therapeutic doses and careful attention to the emergence of side effects. Future studies must distinguish between patients with true schizophrenic disorder and patients with psychosis secondary to dementia, affective illness, or organic impairment. Patients must be characterized further as having EOS versus LOS because these disorders may differ in symptom profile, course, and response to treatment. There is also a need in future studies to separate out the results of treatment of patients with EOS who have been severely ill for most of their lives from those whose course has been less devastating. Within these two groups, treatment response, effective dose ranges, and sensitivity to side effects can be scrutinized more carefully.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. ltune@emory.edu
authors.forename: Larry E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Tune
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salzman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents