benztropine and Weight-Gain

A 55-year-old female with a diagnosis of schizophrenia currently resides in an assisted living facility in a large metropolitan suburb. For approximately 25 years, the patient was relegated to a life of poor symptom control and social adjustment, largely due to nonadherence, relapse, and rehospitalization. The patient experienced a trial-and-error approach to drug therapy, which resulted in reliance on the older or first generation agents for symptom improvement. This case supports the assertion that the second-generation or atypical antipsychotics used to treat schizophrenia are no better than older drugs in terms of efficacy or tolerability.

Topics: Antipsychotic Agents; Benztropine; Bipolar Disorder; Borderline Personality Disorder; Drug Substitution; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Middle Aged; Psychotic Disorders; Retrospective Studies; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology; Social Adjustment; Thiothixene; Treatment Outcome; Weight Gain