The art and science of switching of antipsychotic medications, part 1.

In the presentation "Prevalence of and Factors Influencing the Switching of Antipsychotic Medications," Weiden defines the recovery approach for the treatment of schizophrenia, focuses on reasons for switching antipsychotic medications, and offers recommendations for evaluating switch studies. In "Combining and Switching Medications in Bipolar Disorder," Young discusses the similarities and differences between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, offers recommendations for switching medications in bipolar disorder, and evaluates studies of atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Buckley's presentation, "Differential Pharmacology of Atypical Antipsychotics: Clinical Implications," examines response rates in patients with schizophrenia after switching antipsychotic medications, outlines receptor-binding profiles of atypical antipsychotics, highlights adverse events that may occur when switching antipsychotic medications, and offers recommendations for treating those adverse events.