[Pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia spectrum disorders: State of the Art]

Pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia spectrum disorders: State of the Art Abstract. Schizophrenia is a disorder, whose cause and course are still a puzzle. Nevertheless its treatment has made big progresses during the last decades. Early recognition and early treatment of the disorder are very important for a good outcome. Any of the four stages of the illness needs its own treatment concept. Today the gold standard during a acute / progressive psychotic phase is primarily the prescription of an 2nd generation antipsychotic (atypicals). Regarding the goal of remission and relapse prevention close monitoring of side effects (TEE = treatment emergent events) are key. Adherence and an appropriate relapse prevention can change the course of this severe disorder significantly to the better. Long acting injectables (LAI's) turned out to be helpful in this regard. - Patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disoder have a significant shortened life expectancy compared to the normal population. Therefor close monitoring of cardio-metabolic parameters by general practitioners is very important.