ISSUES IN POLYPHARMACOTHERAPY - FOCUS ON DEPRESSION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

The use of polypharmacotherapy in the treatment of psychiatric disorde r is commonplace. However, few studies evaluate the safety and efficac y of combination treatments, In general, studies of combinations of dr ugs are difficult to perform and are not required for approval of medi cations, nor are they commonly used to justify the almost routine use of combination therapy in daily clinical practice. This article examin es the complexities involved in performing research in combination dru g therapy and discusses how homogeneity of the study population can In fluence response to treatment. Studies that evaluate the usefulness of adding antidepressant medication to antipsychotics in the treatment o f depression secondary to schizophrenia are used as examples to help i llustrate these topics.