ABSTRACT
The availability of the atypical (also referred to as “novel” or “second-generation”) antipsychotic medications for the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders in the United States began in 1988 with the publication of the pivotal trial supporting the effectiveness of clozapine in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia and the consequent release of clozapine in 1990. Since that time, five additional atypical antipsychotic medications (risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, aripiprazole) have come to market. The use of atypical antipsychotics in clinical practice is therefore a relatively recent phenomenon with both clinical and clinical research experience with these medications confined to just the past 10 or 15 years (or less for the more recently released drugs).
