Abstract
Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that impacts quality of life and can require hospital treatment. Schizophrenia is thought to have affected humans throughout history; however, it was first described as a form of mental illness in 1887. Notably, doctors did not effectively treat schizophrenia until 1951, when Dr. Heinz Lehmann discovered that a drug called chlorpromazine could be used to relieve the symptoms of this disorder. Although chlorpromazine was initially used to keep patients asleep during surgery, researchers learned that it was also helpful for mental illnesses. While the causes of mental illness are still not completely understood, the discovery of chlorpromazine taught us a lot about how the brain communicates, and we learned that issues with communication between the brain and the body can lead to some of the symptoms of mental illness. Overall, chlorpromazine paved the way for future drugs and improved the lives of millions!
Highlights
Chlorpromazine was the first drug treatment for schizophrenia, but it was the first medicine used to treat any mental health disorder! In this article, we will tell the story of how chlorpromazine was discovered, how it came to be used for mental health disorders, and how it paved the way for the medical field of psychiatry
The first drug used to treat any mental health disorder, chlorpromazine played a huge role in establishing the field of psychiatry
Schizophrenia was first described as a form of mental illness in but, until the discovery of chlorpromazine, there were no medications available to treat this brain disorder
Summary
Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition with symptoms including false beliefs (delusions), seeing or hearing things that are not real (hallucinations), and di culty speaking. Treatments were often dangerous, poorly researched, and would not be seen as responsible or safe by today’s standards [ , ]. These methods used chemicals or electricity to shock the brain and cause changes that could improve symptoms over time. These treatments sometimes had severe side e ects, like causing patient to go into comas. The way we treat people with schizophrenia was forever changed This was the year that scientists discovered the benefits of a drug called chlorpromazine for treating schizophrenia. Chlorpromazine was the first drug treatment for schizophrenia, but it was the first medicine used to treat any mental health disorder! In this article, we will tell the story of how chlorpromazine was discovered, how it came to be used for mental health disorders, and how it paved the way for the medical field of psychiatry
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
