Schizophrenia usually begins in young adulthood and has a lifetime prevalence of about 1% irrespective of culture, social class and race. Schizophrenia is a chronic relapsing mental illness, characterised by symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and emotional withdrawal. Antipsychotic drugs are effective for controlling florid symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions but are less effective for treating emotional withdrawal. Antipsychotics are associated with adverse effects such as movement disorders, and the overall cost of the illness to the individual, their carers and the community is considerable.
Fluphenazine is an inexpensive and widely accessible antipsychotic drug that has been available to treat people with schizophrenia for five decades. In this review, for perhaps the first time, we objectively quantify the effects of oral administration of fluphenazine in comparison with placebo. It is indeed a potent antipsychotic but with considerable adverse effects. Other drugs may well be preferable.