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’ therapy journeys and doubtlessly preserving them from optimizing their illness administration.

Amongst sufferers with schizophrenia, caregivers, and well being care suppliers, a typical false impression is that use of long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) is just applicable for extreme instances. Nonetheless, LAIs could also be appropriate for quite a lot of sufferers and even utilized in early therapy to permit for improved adherence – the affected person receiving the medicine as prescribed – and high quality of life. For that reason, they’re usually beneficial to sufferers preferring LAIs or who might wrestle to stick to a every 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 therapy choices within the U.S. about 4% of the time.

It’s essential to make clear among the different frequent misconceptions of LAIs, together with:

False impression #1: Therapy price is out of attain

A large number of private and non-private insurance coverage might help cowl the price of LAI antipsychotics, and in some instances the drug producer may present help.

False impression #2: Sufferers desire oral therapy

Within the well being care neighborhood, oral medicine is often the usual first alternative therapy of schizophrenia, particularly for first-episode sufferers, because of the assumption that sufferers desire it. Nonetheless, there are examples of schizophrenia sufferers and their kinfolk with favorable notion of LAIs. Subsequently, it’s essential for well being care suppliers to supply injectable LAIs as an choice to their sufferers early of their therapy journey, which permits sufferers to debate advantages and dangers of various therapy choices with their medical doctors to seek out the one most applicable for them.

False impression #3: Therapy with LAIs is a punishment

A psychotic episode is usually a traumatic expertise which may be additional compounded by a necessity for hospitalization, which may go away sufferers ambivalent about receiving medicines involuntarily. Traditionally, this has created a adverse notion of injectable remedies, however attitudes might change throughout illness relapse and remission durations. At the moment’s LAIs provide therapy 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 applicable therapy possibility for them. Ought to any particular person imagine LAIs could also be useful to their therapy 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 growth and chief medical officer at Teva Prescribed drugs.

October 2023 
PSYCH-40561

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