These new therapies could finally improve outcomes for schizophrenia patients, and in so doing would have a positive ripple effect on society and open the door to address the side effects of other debilitating diagnoses like Alzheimer's.

Thankfully, in recent years, new medicines are emerging that show promising signs of being highly efficacious and with a much-improved safety profile to treat both aspects of the disease-something many of us haven't seen in our lifetimes. For some, it can feel as if they are merely replacing one problem with another.

Long-term use of the medication can lead to excessive weight gain or uncontrolled facial movements and tics, called tardive dyskinesia. Both of these reactions prevent patients from establishing meaningful social interactions to integrate into society and engage in meaningful work, but existing drugs are atypical antipsychotics, targeting only one aspect of schizophrenia, and are largely ineffective for up to 30 percent of patients.Įven when effective, the common side effects of these existing drugs can be difficult for many patients. In some instances, a patient reacts outwardly to hallucinations, whereas other patients' symptoms manifest in withdrawal and lack of aspect when overwhelmed with feelings. Providing treatment to these populations has been challenging because the symptoms can present differently from person to person. Among young adults in particular, those with schizophrenia have the highest rate of suicide. Additionally, schizophrenia is a more strongly correlated predictor of poverty than any other mental health condition. While only 1.1 percent of Americans have been formally diagnosed with the disorder, approximately 20 percent of inmates in jails and 15 percent of those in state prisons have a serious mental illness. Schizophrenia is a pervasive issue that affects both the individual and society at large. Take schizophrenia for example-our health care system has been reliant on the same treatment options since the early 1950s. The National Institute of Mental Health reported roughly 1 in 5 American adults live with a mental illness, and yet new therapies for some of the more severe diagnoses have largely been stagnant for several decades, until recently.

Negative schizophrenia