Which medication is indicated as schizoaffective disorder monotherapy?

Which medication is indicated as schizoaffective disorder monotherapy?

• A. Risperidone
• B. Clozapine
• C. Paliperidone
• D. Olanzapine

Answer: (C)

Paliperidone is the antipsychotic with an approved indication to treat schizoaffective disorder as a single-agent (monotherapy) therapy. This matters because the question is about labeled indications, not just how well a drug works for psychosis in general. Paliperidone acts by blocking dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, which helps reduce the hallucinations and delusions that are central to schizoaffective disorder. In this condition, using one antipsychotic can be sufficient when mood symptoms are being managed or are not the dominant feature, and paliperidone’s labeling explicitly supports its use as monotherapy for schizoaffective disorder. The other options are primarily indicated for schizophrenia more broadly (or, in the case of clozapine, for treatment-resistant schizophrenia), and do not carry the same specific monotherapy indication for schizoaffective disorder.

Paliperidone is the antipsychotic with an approved indication to treat schizoaffective disorder as a single-agent (monotherapy) therapy. This matters because the question is about labeled indications, not just how well a drug works for psychosis in general. Paliperidone acts by blocking dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, which helps reduce the hallucinations and delusions that are central to schizoaffective disorder. In this condition, using one antipsychotic can be sufficient when mood symptoms are being managed or are not the dominant feature, and paliperidone’s labeling explicitly supports its use as monotherapy for schizoaffective disorder. The other options are primarily indicated for schizophrenia more broadly (or, in the case of clozapine, for treatment-resistant schizophrenia), and do not carry the same specific monotherapy indication for schizoaffective disorder.