Current Antipsychotics

More about the book

Six decades after the discovery of chlorpromazine and four decades after clozapine's introduction, psychopharmacology faces a pivotal moment. There is a pressing need for pharmacological research to explore complementary or alternative mechanisms to address unmet medical needs in schizophrenia, such as improving patient acceptance, medication adherence, and safety, particularly in patients with dementia, while minimizing cardiac and metabolic side effects. Novel mechanisms, particularly those related to glutamatergic pathways, are emerging, reminiscent of the early days of second-generation antipsychotics. This presents an opportunity for researchers to validate their hypotheses and for the pharmaceutical industry to innovate new therapeutic classes. In response to a request from publishers, we aimed to compile a comprehensive volume on antipsychotics, encompassing both current knowledge and future prospects for more targeted treatments based on the pathophysiology of these disorders. Given the complexity of the topic, we decided to produce two volumes: Current Antipsychotics and Novel Antischizophrenia Treatments. While these subjects are interconnected, they are presented separately to address the ongoing challenges in developing safer medications and to highlight new opportunities for treating inadequately addressed symptoms, such as cognitive deficits. This volume will contextualize current therapies, their limitations,