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Early Clinical Intervention and Prevention in Schizophrenia pp 303–323Cite as

Treatment of the Schizophrenia Prodrome

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Abstract

A series of rapidly emerging research events has generated both optimism and concern about the administration of antipsychotic medication prior to the onset of psychosis: hope that early intervention will lead to the prevention of fullblown schizophrenia, but concern that this belief may be premature. Although the supporting research is encouraging, it is still in its infancy. The handful of early findings (1–3) are encouraging, but are in no way conclusive, and the possibility of prevention remains open. In this chapter, we discuss both the promise and the problems characterizing this area of research. We begin by addressing two very preliminary questions: (1) Why is schizophrenia, arguably the most severe and difficult to treat of the mental illnesses, considered preventable? and (2) Why does pharmacological intervention during the prodromal phase of schizophrenia appear justified or even acceptable as a starting point in prevention programs? We discuss the evidence that supports the use of early pharmacotherapy as well as some of the controversies that have emerged in response to the early clinical interventions. We conclude by reporting the early treatment findings emerging from the Hillside Recognition and Prevention (RAP) program, which has attempted to integrate a highrisk research methodology within a treatment framework and has, as a result, adopted a somewhat different strategy than most of the other prodromal studies now under way.

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Authors
  1. Barbara Cornblatt PhD
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  2. Todd Lencz PhD
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  3. Christopher Smith MA
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  4. Andrea Auther PhD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics, Boston, MA, USA

    William S. Stone PhD , Stephen V. Faraone PhD  & Ming T. Tsuang MD, PhD, DSc ,  & 

  2. Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston, MA, USA

    William S. Stone PhD

  3. Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Stephen V. Faraone PhD

  4. Harvard Medical School Departments of Psychiatry at Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Ming T. Tsuang MD, PhD, DSc

  5. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Ming T. Tsuang MD, PhD, DSc

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© 2004 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Cornblatt, B., Lencz, T., Smith, C., Auther, A. (2004). Treatment of the Schizophrenia Prodrome. In: Stone, W.S., Faraone, S.V., Tsuang, M.T. (eds) Early Clinical Intervention and Prevention in Schizophrenia. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-729-1_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-729-1_14

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-9833-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-729-1

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