by Eric Hughes, M.D., Ph.D.
Societal perceptions of schizophrenia are sometimes sensationalized and shrouded in stigmas that may result in misconceptions and the unfold of inaccurate info each exterior and throughout the neighborhood. These destructive or false beliefs can come from media, cultural attitudes, and institutional bias (employers, police, and even the medical neighborhood), impacting sufferers’ therapy journeys and probably conserving 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 simply applicable for extreme instances. Nevertheless, 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 remedy as prescribed – and high quality of life. For that reason, they’re usually really helpful to sufferers preferring LAIs or who could wrestle 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 take care of steady blood ranges and have been proven to cut 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 a number of the different frequent misconceptions of LAIs, together with:
False impression #1: Remedy value is out of attain
A mess of private and non-private insurance policy might help cowl the price of LAI antipsychotics, and in some instances the drug producer might also present help.
False impression #2: Sufferers favor oral therapy
Within the well being care neighborhood, oral remedy is often the usual first selection therapy of schizophrenia, particularly for first-episode sufferers, because of the assumption that sufferers favor it. Nevertheless, there are examples of schizophrenia sufferers and their relations with favorable notion of LAIs. Due to this fact, 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 docs to search out the one most applicable for them.
False impression #3: Remedy with LAIs is a punishment
A psychotic episode generally is a traumatic expertise that could be additional compounded by a necessity for hospitalization, which may go away sufferers ambivalent about receiving medicines involuntarily. Traditionally, this has created a destructive notion of injectable therapies, however attitudes could change throughout illness relapse and remission durations. As we speak’s LAIs provide therapy choices for sufferers and docs 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 choice for them. Ought to any particular person imagine LAIs could also be helpful to their therapy journey, they’re inspired to begin 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 Prescription drugs.
October 2023Â
PSYCH-40561
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