Naturalistic studies of second generation antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia

Undoubtedly, the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. Large, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have ushered the availability of each new antipsychotic. However, there has been an information lag because of the relative paucity of long term, comparative studies among second-generation antipsychotics. While we await such evidence, naturalistic studies have helped to provide useful information on the pattern of use, patient response, and tolerability of these new agents in clinical practice. This review provides an account of representative studies for each second generation antipsychotic, which illustrate the contributions of naturalistic studies to our understanding of the evolving pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia.