|
|
Article: New schizophrenia drug; balancing hope with safety. (Clozaril)
- Article from:
- FDA Consumer
- Article date:
- June 1, 1990
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1990 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Thirty-year-old "Claudia" was a problem-to her parents, to the state mental institution where she had spent her last six years, and to her doctor. Prone to hallucinating and holding imaginary conversations, her thoughts tumbled around her mind in wild disarray. Disheveled, agitated and violent, on her infrequent visits home Claudia (not her real name) often tried to hit her parents.
The young woman suffered from schizophrenia, a devastating mental disorder that strikes people most often in their late teens. Doctors had tried most of the major antipsychotic drugs to give her life some normalcy, but nothing worked.
As a last resort, a psychiatrist decided ...