a study to evaluate participants satisfaction, quality of life and effectiveness of flexible-dose of paliperidone extended release (er) in participants with schizophrenia, previously treated with risperidone

Conditions: Schizophrenia

Summary: the purpose of this study is to evaluate effectiveness, tolerability (how well a participant can stand a particular medicine or treatment), and safety of flexible-dose of paliperidone extended release (er) in participants with schizophrenia (psychiatric disorder with symptoms of emotional instability, detachment from reality, often with delusions and hallucinations, and withdrawal into the self), previously taking risperidone (an antipsychotic), but who are not satisfied with their treatment.

this is an open-label (a medical research study in which participants and researchers are told which treatments the participants are receiving, "unblinded"), multi-center (when more than 1 hospital or medical school team work on a medical research study), non-randomized, single-arm study of paliperidone er in participants previously treated with risperidone with poor response. the study will consist of 2 phases: a main phase of 6 months and an extension phase of another 6 months. the total duration of the study will be 12 months. all participants will receive an oral (having to do with the mouth) daily dose of paliperidone er in flexible dosage (in the range of 3-12 milligram \[mg\]: 3 mg, 6 mg, 9 mg, or 12 mg) according to investigator's discretion. efficacy and safety of participants will primarily be evaluated by positive and negative syndrome scale (panss) and extrapyramidal symptoms rating scale (esrs), respectively. participants' safety will be monitored throughout the study.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * female participants must be postmenopausal (after the time in life when a woman stops having a menstrual period) or surgically sterile or if sexually active, practicing an effective method of birth control (e.g., oral contraceptive, intrauterine device \[iud - an intrauterine device made of plastic and/or copper that is inserted into the womb \[uterus\] by way of the vaginal canal to used to prevent pregnancy\], diaphragm with spermicide \[agent that kills spermatozoa\] or condom \[cover worn over the penis during sexual intercourse to prevent infection or pregnancy\] with spermicide) throughout the study and have a negative serum beta - human chorionic gonadotropin (hcg) pregnancy test at screening * participants on oral monotherapy (treatment with a single drug) with risperidone in a regimen within the daily dosage recommended by the package insert and adhering to the prescribed risperidone regimen for at least 30 days before entering the study * participants with partial response to the current risperidone regimen (persistent symptoms or unstable clinical condition) or presence of unbearable side effects * potential participants switching to another atypical antipsychotic due to their clinical response and/or side effects profile. exclusion criteria: * participants with past or current history of psychiatric disease other than schizophrenia according to diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm)-iv * participants with concomitant (given at the same time) severe (very serious, life threatening) medical or neurological disorder or risk of suicide * participants previously using clozapine * participants with a history of previous non-responsiveness to oral antipsychotic treatment * pregnant or breast-feeding female participants

Keywords: schizophrenia paliperidone