Societal perceptions of schizophrenia are sometimes sensationalized and shrouded in stigmas that may result in misconceptions and the unfold of inaccurate info each outdoors and throughout the neighborhood. These adverse or false beliefs can come from media, cultural attitudes, and institutional bias (employers, police, and even the medical neighborhood), impacting sufferers’ remedy journeys and probably holding them from optimizing their illness administration.

Amongst sufferers with schizophrenia, caregivers, and well being care suppliers, a standard false impression is that use of long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) is barely acceptable for extreme instances. Nevertheless, LAIs could also be appropriate for quite a lot of sufferers and even utilized in early remedy to permit for improved adherence – the affected person receiving the remedy as prescribed – and high quality of life. Because of this, they’re usually advisable to sufferers preferring LAIs or who could battle to stick to a day by day oral routine.

As well as, relapse continues to be an ongoing and sophisticated problem confronted by many schizophrenia sufferers, with charges estimated to be between 50-92% globally. LAIs assist to keep up steady blood ranges and have been proven to scale back the chance of relapse. Regardless of the confirmed effectiveness, LAIs are solely used as first-line remedy choices within the U.S. about 4% of the time.

It’s necessary to make clear a few of the different widespread misconceptions of LAIs, together with:

False impression #1: Remedy price is out of attain

A mess of private and non-private insurance policy may help cowl the price of LAI antipsychotics, and in some instances the drug producer can also present help.

False impression #2: Sufferers choose oral remedy

Within the well being care neighborhood, oral remedy is often the usual first alternative remedy of schizophrenia, particularly for first-episode sufferers, because of the assumption that sufferers choose it. Nevertheless, there are examples of schizophrenia sufferers and their kinfolk with favorable notion of LAIs. Due to this fact, it’s necessary for well being care suppliers to supply injectable LAIs as an choice to their sufferers early of their remedy journey, which permits sufferers to debate advantages and dangers of various remedy choices with their medical doctors to search out the one most acceptable for them.

False impression #3: Remedy with LAIs is a punishment

A psychotic episode could be a traumatic expertise which may be additional compounded by a necessity for hospitalization, which may depart sufferers ambivalent about receiving drugs involuntarily. Traditionally, this has created a adverse notion of injectable therapies, however attitudes could change throughout illness relapse and remission intervals. In the present day’s LAIs supply remedy choices for sufferers and medical doctors that will assist meet the affected person’s wants or preferences.

Elevating consciousness of those misconceptions has the potential to assist sufferers and caregivers think about probably the most acceptable remedy choice for them. Ought to any particular person imagine LAIs could also be helpful to their remedy journey, they’re inspired to start out a dialog with their physician.

Eric Hughes, M.D., Ph.D., is the chief vice chairman of worldwide analysis and improvement and chief medical officer at Teva Prescribed drugs.

October 2023 
PSYCH-40561

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