New article: Clinical Practice Guideline on the Choice of First Antipsychotic Medicine for Females Experiencing a First-Episode of Psychosis

The PROGRESS research group has developed the first sex-specific guideline for the choice of first antipsychotic medication for females with a first episode of psychosis. There are high response rates associated with antipsychotic medications in first episode psychosis and therefore the choice of medication initially should be based on the expected side-effects and likely tolerability. As some antipsychotic medications can cause cardiometabolic side-effects and raised prolactin and females can be more sensitive to these side-effects, which can have longer term consequences in relation to physical health. The article and guideline, which have just been published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, can be accessed [here].