Cariprazine: Patients with Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a chronic relapsing and remitting disorder associated with significant impairments in social and vocational functioning and a shortened lifespan, and it is a disabling psychiatric brain syndrome whose phenotype is characterized by three core symptom domains: positive symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, negative symptoms, which include lack of motivation and social withdrawal, and cognitive impairment. Moreover, patients with schizophrenia have severe problems with personal and social relations which affect their quality of life. Antipsychotic medications in conjunction with psychosocial interventions can help patients achieve recovery. Here are described three clinical cases of schizophrenic patients treated with cariprazine for inadequate response to a previous treatment. The purpose of this clinical series is to give useful information for the use of cariprazine in clinical practice.