Study challenges rush to medicate sch...( A USC review of published research has ...),Health

"The question is whether we should rush to treat early episodes with anti-psychotics, often before a clear diagnosis has become evident," wrote John Bola in his study slated for publication in the April edition of Schizophrenia Bulletin.

Bola said the findings are important because the drugs used to treat schizophrenia can have serious side effects in nearly half of patients, from severe weight gain and restlessness to involuntary movement and adult-onset diabetes.

The controversial findings could clear the way for researchers to identify the large number of patients who do not need the drugs for their conditions to improve, said Bola, an assistant professor in the USC School of Social Work.

"It's important to look for the people who don't need medication to prevent overexposure to possible side effects," Bola said. "In the last 25 years, there has been little effort to identify the 25 to 40 percent of those who tend to recover with psychosocial treatment and not need medications."

Bola analyzed six published studies from the 1950s to the present with a majority of first or second-episode schizophrenia subjects.

The drugs available do help most patients, but not all, Bola said.

"There is a lack of good-quality evidence to support a conclusion that long-term harm results from short-term postponement of medication in early episode schizophrenia," Bola said. "A categorical prohibition against such research should be reconsidered."

The American Psychiatric Association recommends anti-psychotic medication for at least a year after diagnosis.

That guideline of immediate drug treatment for the first occurrence of schizophrenia prevents important research on the selective use of medicatio
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Contact: Eddie North-Hager
edwardnh@usc.edu
213-740-9335
University of Southern California
22-Mar-2006