Inflammatory processes linked to major depression and schizophrenic disorders and the effects of polypharmacy in psychiatry: evidence from a longitudinal study of 279 patients under therapy.

ABSTRACT: Over the past 2 decades, polypharmacy has become the de-facto standard of acute treatment in psychiatry where patients with psychiatric disorders receive a multiple medication regimen. There is growing evidence for a potential link between major psychiatric disorders and inflammatory processes. Combining these two aspects aims at avoiding polypharmacy attempts among patients with inflammatory activation through alternative treatment strategies. In this study, we addressed the following questions: (1) to what extent can polypharmacy be explained through the factors "diagnosis", "previous history", "severity at baseline", "age", "gender", and "psychiatrist in charge"; (2) what are the differences between polypharmacy and monotherapy regarding efficacy and side effect profiles; and (3) what a

SUBMITTER: Stassen HH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7981316 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature