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Drugs denied
People with schizophrenia who fail to respond to traditonal drug therapy are
being denied the only drug licensed to help them, a study has shown.
In an Institute of Psychiatry study, researchers found that doctors took too
long to prescribe the drug clozapine for patients with treatment resistant schizophrenia
(TRS). People with TRS, in some cases, had to wait between five and 14 years.
The drug, under its licensing guidelines, should be prescribed after six months,
but the researchers now say that the timescale should be reduced to three months,
for people who fail to respond to traditional anti-psychotic drugs.
Paul Farmer of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship said that those who are
most disabled by the condition are being denied access to the drug. He said:
"For many people who are 'treatment resistant', clozapine provides the
opportunity for recovering a more meaningful life".
Around 30 per cent of people diagnosed with schizophrenia are resistant to treatment.
This often results in a low quality of life for the patient, with heavy use
of hospital services and a high incidence of suicide.
Posted: 15 Jan, 2002
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