David Taylor FFRPS FRPharmS (born 1963) is a British professor. He is the head of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Clinical Academic Group within King's Health Partners. Taylor has been lead author and editor of the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry since 1994. In 2014, Taylor was named as one of the top 100 clinical leaders in the UK National Health Service. [1]
Taylor was born in Leicester in 1963 and attended Loughborough Grammar School (1975-1982). He is the second of four brothers. His younger brother is the presenter and historian, Stephen Taylor. [2] His father, James Taylor CChem MRSC, contributed to the development of sodium cromoglycate. [3]
Taylor was guitarist in New Wave group The Thought Police, who supported Theatre of Hate on their 1981 UK tour.
A keen rugby player, Taylor played three seasons for Loughborough Grammar School first team and was later captain of Old Pauline FC 1st XV, for whom he made over 300 appearances, many alongside fellow Old Loughburian Patrick MacLarnon.
In 2023, Taylor completed the London Marathon in just over four hours.
Taylor obtained a BSc in pharmacy and an MSc in clinical pharmacy from the University of Brighton. He later gained a PhD in clinical pharmacology at King’s College, London. He is a fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (FRPharmS), [4] a fellow of that organisation’s faculty (FFRPS) and an elected fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh (FRCPEdin). In 2021 he was made an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (FRCPsych Hon) in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to the profession and the cause of mental health".
Taylor's first experience in psychiatry was in 1986 – a brief placement at the Towers Hospital in Leicester. He then worked in general medicine at hospitals in London and Sydney until joining the Maudsley hospital in 1993. In 1997 Taylor founded the national centre for information on drugs in psychiatry, part of the UKMi network. He has been head of pharmacy since 1995 and Director of Pharmacy and Pathology at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust since 2000.
In 2008, Taylor was awarded a chair in psychopharmacology at King’s College, London and also made honorary professor at the Institute of Psychiatry. Since 2010, Taylor has been head of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Clinical Academic Group within King's Health Partners. [5]
Taylor was chairman of the UK Psychiatric Pharmacy Group (1997-1999) and the foundation president of the College of Mental Health Pharmacists, a role recognised by the award of a lifetime fellowship (FCMHP). He was a member of the government-appointed panel which brought in laws in drug driving [6] and is currently a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. [7]
Taylor has been a member of several NICE panels responsible for drawing up treatment guidelines in mental health, including the 2022 guideline on depression in adults. [8]
Since 2011 he has been editor-in-chief of the journal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology [9] which was launched in the same year. The journal has an official Impact Factor of 4.2 [10] and is ranked 64th out of 155 psychiatry journals.
Taylor is widely recognised as an expert witness on the effect of drugs on behaviour and has given testimony on over two hundred civil and criminal cases.
Taylor has authored around 400 papers (H index 76) in journals such as the Lancet, BMJ, British Journal of Psychiatry and Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, on subjects ranging from the value of long-acting antipsychotic injections, [11] [12] the efficacy of psilocybin as an antidepressant and the efficacy and safety of agomelatine. Taylor’s research has helped further understanding of the use of clozapine. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] In 2022 he suggested a refined phenotype for genetic studies into clozapine-related agranulocytosis. [18] He has also developed a genetic test predicting response to clozapine and the risk of agranulocytosis. This test is marketed in the UK by Psychiatric Genetics Ltd. Most recently Taylor has tackled the controversial subjects of discontinuation of antidepressants [19] [20] and antipsychotics. [21] [22] He is co-founder of 428 Pharma a company developing the world's first antidepressant long-acting injection which is designed for use both as longterm treatment and, at different dosage levels, as a means of successfully withdrawing from antidepressant treatment. Taylor has pioneered the use of point-of-care capillary testing for clozapine [23] [24]
Taylor was the originator of the idea of an evidenced-based mental health prescribing guideline along with the late professor Robert Kerwin and has made a major and unique contribution by writing the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines [25] for over 25 years. Taylor is the de facto editor of this publication and is the only author to be credited on all 14 editions. The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines [26] [27] [28] have sold over 300,000 copies in thirteen languages. The 14th edition was published in June 2021. He has also co-written four other books in the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines series, including The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines, first published in January 2024.
Professor Taylor has lectured throughout the world, including tours of New Zealand (2011), Hong Kong (2016), Australia (2019) and Japan (2019). He was a keynote speaker at the 2018 annual meeting of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in Auckland, at the Royal College of Psychiatrists annual meeting in London in 2019, [29] and at The 119th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology in 2023.
Antipsychotics, previously known as neuroleptics and major tranquilizers, are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis, principally in schizophrenia but also in a range of other psychotic disorders. They are also the mainstay, together with mood stabilizers, in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Moreover, they are also used as adjuncts in the treatment of treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.
Clozapine is the first atypical antipsychotic medication to have been discovered. It is usually used in tablet or liquid form for people diagnosed with schizophrenia who have had an inadequate response to other antipsychotics or who have been unable to tolerate other drugs due to extrapyramidal side effects. It is also used for the treatment of psychosis in Parkinson's disease. In the US it is also licensed for use in patients with recurrent suicidal behaviour associated with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. It is regarded as the gold-standard treatment when other medication has been insufficiently effective and its use is recommended by multiple international treatment guidelines. Compared to other antipsychotic drug treatments, initiating and maintaining clozapine is complex, expensive and time-consuming. The role of clozapine in treatment-resistant schizophrenia was established by the Clozaril Collaborative Study Group Study #30 in which clozapine showed marked benefits compared to chlorpromazine in a group of patients with protracted psychosis and who had already shown an inadequate response to other antipsychotics. There are a range of different adverse effects and compulsory blood monitoring is required in most developed countries. Whilst there are significant side effects, clozapine remains the most effective treatment when one or more other antipsychotics have had an inadequate response, and clozapine use is associated with multiple improved outcomes including all cause mortality, suicide and reduced hospitalisation. In a network comparative meta-analysis of 15 antipsychotic drugs, clozapine was significantly more effective than all other drugs. Surveys of patient satisfaction show preference over other antipsychotics.
A psychiatric or psychotropic medication is a psychoactive drug taken to exert an effect on the chemical makeup of the brain and nervous system. Thus, these medications are used to treat mental illnesses. These medications are typically made of synthetic chemical compounds and are usually prescribed in psychiatric settings, potentially involuntarily during commitment. Since the mid-20th century, such medications have been leading treatments for a broad range of mental disorders and have decreased the need for long-term hospitalization, thereby lowering the cost of mental health care. The recidivism or rehospitalization of the mentally ill is at a high rate in many countries, and the reasons for the relapses are under research.
The atypical antipsychotics (AAP), also known as second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) and serotonin–dopamine antagonists (SDAs), are a group of antipsychotic drugs largely introduced after the 1970s and used to treat psychiatric conditions. Some atypical antipsychotics have received regulatory approval for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, irritability in autism, and as an adjunct in major depressive disorder.
Quetiapine, sold under the brand name Seroquel among others, is an atypical antipsychotic medication used for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. Despite being widely used as a sleep aid due to its sedating effect, the benefits of such use do not appear to generally outweigh the side effects. It is taken orally.
Olanzapine is an atypical antipsychotic primarily used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. For schizophrenia, it can be used for both new-onset disease and long-term maintenance. It is taken by mouth or by injection into a muscle.
Perphenazine is a typical antipsychotic drug. Chemically, it is classified as a piperazinyl phenothiazine. Originally marketed in the United States as Trilafon, it has been in clinical use for decades.
Aripiprazole, sold under the brand names Abilify and Aristada, among others, is an atypical antipsychotic. It is primarily used in the treatment of schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and bipolar disorder; other uses include as an add-on treatment in major depressive disorder, tic disorders, and irritability associated with autism. Aripiprazole is taken by mouth or via injection into a muscle. A Cochrane review found low-quality evidence of effectiveness in treating schizophrenia.
Loxapine, sold under the brand names Loxitane and Adasuve among others, is a tricyclic antipsychotic medication used primarily in the treatment of schizophrenia. The medicine is a member of the dibenzoxazepine class and structurally very similar to clozapine. Several researchers have argued that loxapine, initially classified as a typical antipsychotic, behaves as an atypical antipsychotic.
Moclobemide, sold under the brand names Amira, Aurorix, Clobemix, Depnil and Manerix among others, is a reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase A (RIMA) drug primarily used to treat depression and social anxiety. It is not approved for use in the United States, but is approved in other Western countries such as Canada, the UK and Australia. It is produced by affiliates of the Hoffmann–La Roche pharmaceutical company. Initially, Aurorix was also marketed by Roche in South Africa, but was withdrawn after its patent rights expired and Cipla Medpro's Depnil and Pharma Dynamic's Clorix became available at half the cost.
Amisulpride is an antiemetic and antipsychotic medication used at lower doses intravenously to prevent and treat postoperative nausea and vomiting; and at higher doses by mouth to treat schizophrenia and acute psychotic episodes. It is sold under the brand names Barhemsys and Solian, Socian, Deniban and others. At very low doses it is also used to treat dysthymia.
Psychotic depression, also known as depressive psychosis, is a major depressive episode that is accompanied by psychotic symptoms. It can occur in the context of bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder. It can be difficult to distinguish from schizoaffective disorder, a diagnosis that requires the presence of psychotic symptoms for at least two weeks without any mood symptoms present. Unipolar psychotic depression requires that psychotic symptoms occur during severe depressive episodes, although residual psychotic symptoms may also be present in between episodes. Diagnosis using the DSM-5 involves meeting the criteria for a major depressive episode, along with the criteria for "mood-congruent or mood-incongruent psychotic features" specifier.
Sulpiride, sold under the brand name Dogmatil among others, is an atypical antipsychotic medication of the benzamide class which is used mainly in the treatment of psychosis associated with schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, and sometimes used in low dosage to treat anxiety and mild depression. Sulpiride is commonly used in Asia, Central America, Europe, South Africa and South America. Levosulpiride is its purified levo-isomer and is sold in India for similar purpose. It is not approved in the United States, Canada, or Australia. The drug is chemically and clinically similar to amisulpride.
Flupentixol (INN), also known as flupenthixol, marketed under brand names such as Depixol and Fluanxol is a typical antipsychotic drug of the thioxanthene class. It was introduced in 1965 by Lundbeck. In addition to single drug preparations, it is also available as flupentixol/melitracen—a combination product containing both melitracen and flupentixol . Flupentixol is not approved for use in the United States. It is, however, approved for use in the UK, Australia, Canada, Russian Federation, South Africa, New Zealand, Philippines, Iran, Germany, and various other countries.
Asenapine, sold under the brand name Saphris among others, is an atypical antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and acute mania associated with bipolar disorder as well as the medium to long-term management of bipolar disorder.
Melperone is an atypical antipsychotic of the butyrophenone chemical class, making it structurally related to the typical antipsychotic haloperidol. It first entered clinical use in 1960s.
The management of schizophrenia usually involves many aspects including psychological, pharmacological, social, educational, and employment-related interventions directed to recovery, and reducing the impact of schizophrenia on quality of life, social functioning, and longevity.
Joanna Moncrieff is a British psychiatrist and academic. She is Professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London and a leading figure in the Critical Psychiatry Network. She is a prominent critic of the modern 'psychopharmacological' model of mental disorder and drug treatment, and the role of the pharmaceutical industry. She has written papers, books and blogs on the use and over-use of drug treatment for mental health problems, the mechanism of action of psychiatric drugs, their subjective and psychoactive effects, the history of drug treatment, and the evidence for its benefits and harms. She also writes on the history and politics of psychiatry more generally. Her best known books are The Myth of the Chemical Cure and The Bitterest Pills.
Perphenazine enanthate, sold under the brand name Trilafon Enantat among others, is a typical antipsychotic and a depot antipsychotic ester which is used in the treatment of schizophrenia and has been marketed in Europe. It is formulated in sesame oil and administered by intramuscular injection and acts as a long-lasting prodrug of perphenazine. Perphenazine enanthate is used at a dose of 25 to 200 mg once every 2 weeks by injection, with a time to peak levels of 2 to 3 days and an elimination half-life of 4 to 7 days.
In medicine, tapering is the practice of gradually reducing the dosage of a medication to reduce or discontinue it. Generally, tapering is done is to avoid or minimize withdrawal symptoms that arise from neurobiological adaptation to the drug.
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