Schizophrenia drugs may have been off target for decades, study finds
The brain is really complicated, and all psychiatric medications affect multiple receptors and subsystems. Framing this study as &quot;antipsychotics were off target&quot; is an editorial choice. The title could just as easily have been &quot;Improved understanding of antipsychotic action means we may be able to design better antipsychotics.&quot;<p>Edit: It also ought to be noted that the study was on mice that had been given amphetamines to mimic psychosis. Which is interesting and good science, but seems far from enough evidence for the press to write stories with headlines like &quot;Everyone Was Wrong About Antipsychotics&quot; or &quot;Schizophrenia Drugs May Have Been Off Target For Decades, Study Finds.&quot;<p>This sort of internet story bothers me because I&#x27;ve spent time around schizophrenics who are recovering from a psychotic episode. Schizophrenia can get really, really bad, in a way that I don&#x27;t think most people who haven&#x27;t had contact with the psychiatric medical system understand. Antipsychotics have awful side effects, but for many people the alternative is uncontrolled psychosis, which can be vastly worse.<p>There&#x27;s a decent chunk of people who inherently and vocally dislike psychiatric medication, and these media stories are in that tradition. But the only people who ought to be involved in the decision about using antipsychotics are the patient, their family, and their medical providers. Writing headlines that are too broad for the evidence that supports them does not help improve the lives of people with schizophrenia.