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Do We Know Enough?

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58:1168-1171.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

ANTIPSYCHOTIC drugs have revolutionized the treatment of psychotic and mood disorders since their introduction 50 years ago. Although psychiatric patients have significantly benefited from the use of typical antipsychotic drugs, their limitations have become apparent and include extrapyramidal symptoms and tardive dyskinesia. The next generation of antipsychotic drugs (novel or atypical) offers advantages compared with the typical antipsychotic drugs: they are uniformly better tolerated and are more efficacious in certain symptom domains. However, current data do not suggest that these new medications offer advantages regarding cardiovascular adverse effects.¹

To ascertain the safety profile of new drugs, phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials are conducted and typically involve the study of several hundred patients. However, rare or idiosyncratic adverse effects missed during phase 2 or 3 trials may become apparent only after the drug is released onto the market. Sudden death in psychiatric patients treated with antipsychotic drugs has been . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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