Further Observations on the Duration of Depot Neuroleptic Maintenance Therapy in Schizophrenia

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Abstract
Summary: Two patient samples, with different criteria for selection, have been surveyed following maintenance therapy discontinuation. The patients had previously remained in a steady mental state on depot injections for periods varying between one and four years. Both the rates of relapse and pattern of relapse suggest that patients responding to medication need to remain on maintenance therapy for a minimum of four years. The results further suggest that in chronic schizophrenia the drugs only suppress symptoms and that the prognosis following discontinuation is substantially unchanged by increased duration of medication, even after four years. The possibility of using short-term ‘drug holidays’ to reduce the risk of unwanted effects was explored; after only three months without drugs, the risks of relapse were significantly increased.