Mental Elf Blog post. Our limited understanding of the molecular basis of schizophrenia has restricted our ability to apply research findings in the clinic. Antipsychotics are the mainstay of treatment, but they have low success rates (~60%), disabling adverse effects, damaging impact on physical health, and poor patient outcomes following ineffective treatment are well documented in the literature. The authors of a new paper published last month in npj Schizophrenia (Martins-de-Souza et al, 2015) examine the effects of antipsychotics on the blood plasma profile of 58 acutely ill schizophrenia patients who were either antipsychotic naive (n=23) or antipsychotic free for >6 weeks (n=35).