Unwanted effects of long-term medication in schizophrenia and depression

Medicine is an experimental science which proceeds by trial and error, and with pharmacotherapy doctors must continually review the drugs at their disposal for both effectiveness and adverse effects. These adverse effects must be assessed not only in relation to the therapeutic effect, but also, of course, in relation to the severity of the patient's illness and the likely prognosis in the absence of treatment. In this review I will select one or two side effects in each of the major group of drugs for consideration.