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Treatment Advocacy Center and Public Citizen
Launch "eLetter on Drugs for Severe Psychiatric Illnesses"

Schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness are biological disorders of the brain. Similar to other chronic physical illnesses like hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, severe mental illness requires life-long treatment to control the symptoms of the disease. Numerous scientific studies have repeatedly shown that appropriate medical treatment radically reduces the symptoms of mental illness -- such as hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and withdrawal -- and allows sufferers to regain productive lives. In fact, the treatment success rate for schizophrenia is 60 percent and 80 percent for manic-depressive illness, compared to roughly 50 percent for heart disease or diabetes.

While there have been remarkable advances made in the treatment of severe mental illness, there are, as is found in any medication, potential side-effects for patients undergoing treatment. It is critically important that patients and their families remain informed on the treatment options available to them, and pay close attention to possible adverse reactions to prescribed medications so that informed decisions can be made about the need for and benefits of treatment.

As a group, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers are as safe as those medications used for the treatment of heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. However, many important adverse effects are not being reported since most published findings are sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry. We want to provide individuals with severe mental illness the maximum amount of accurate information possible.

The Treatment Advocacy Center created a joint web site with Public Citizen's Health Research Group, which provides individuals with severe mental illnesses information on current antipsychotic medications. Public Citizen incorporated the information from that site into its new site at www.worstpills.org. Neither the Treatment Advocacy Center nor Public Citizen accepts money from the pharmaceutical industry.