Addressing side effects from antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia

Antipsychotic treatment of schizophrenia is associated with an array of adverse events, many of which are difficult for patients to tolerate and promote nonadherence to treatment. Serious adverse events include extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), hyperprolactinemia, weight gain leading to metabolic syndrome, sedation, cognitive deficits, and hypotension. Clinicians need to be aware of each antipsychotic's propensity to cause these adverse events as well as strategies for avoiding or minimizing the occurrence of adverse events.