title: A review on schizophrenia and relapse--a quest for user-friendly  psychopharmacotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Schizophrenia in general is notoriously associated with relapses rendering the illness progressive to worse outcomes, a concept of which is compatible with neurotoxicity. Therefore, relapse prevention is of utmost clinical relevance.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this review, we aim to put relapse into clinical context in the realm of natural history of, or heterogeneity in, schizophrenia and summarize risk factors of relapse. We discuss how to effectively 'define' relapse in schizophrenia and recent meta-analytic studies on this topic to highlight the importance of continuous antipsychotic treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following issues emerged: 'How low maintenance antipsychotic dosage could be?’, 'How extended dosing could be?’, 'Who could be successfully withdrawn from antipsychotics?’ and 'How relapse could be defined in the first place?’ The question in particular is how better to deliver antipsychotics at the lowest possible, whereby dose and dosing interval are relevant. While ongoing antipsychotic treatment is the rule, recent works are pointing to a possibility of lower dosage in the maintenance phase of the illness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bearing in mind that suboptimal adherence and withdrawal from antipsychotics are an established and unequivocal risk factor for relapse, further investigations are certainly needed to explore user-friendly manner of psychopharmacotherapy to prevent relapse in schizophrenia.
authors: Takefumi
authors: T
authors: Suzuki
authors: Hiroyuki
authors: H
authors: Uchida
authors: Hiroyoshi
authors: H
authors: Takeuchi
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Tsuboi
authors: Jinichi
authors: J
authors: Hirano
authors: Masaru
authors: M
authors: Mimura
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents