No convincing evidence suggests that atypical antipsychotic medications are superior to typical medications for the treatment of adolescents with psychosis .
However , atypical antipsychotic medications may be more acceptable to young people because fewer symptomatic adverse effects are seen in the short term .
Little evidence is available to support the superiority of one atypical antipsychotic medication over another , but side effect profiles are different for different medications .
Treatment with olanzapine , risperidone and clozapine is often associated with weight gain .
Aripiprazole is not associated with increased prolactin or with dyslipidaemia .
Adolescents may respond better to st and ard-dose as opposed to lower-dose risperidone , but for aripiprazole and ziprasidone , lower doses may be equally effective .
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia often presents in adolescence , but current treatment guidelines are based largely on studies of adults with psychosis .
Over the past decade , the number of studies on treatment of adolescent-onset psychosis has increased .
The current systematic review collates and critiques evidence obtained on the use of various atypical antipsychotic medications for adolescents with psychosis .
OBJECTIVES To investigate the effects of atypical antipsychotic medications in adolescents with psychosis .
We review ed in separate analyses various comparisons of atypical antipsychotic medications with placebo or a typical antipsychotic medication or another atypical antipsychotic medication or the same atypical antipsychotic medication but at a lower dose .
The PRIME North America randomized double-blind clinical trial of olanzapine versus placebo in patients at risk of being prodromally symptomatic for psychosis: II. Baseline characteristics of the “prodromal” sample
The first double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of an atypical neuroleptic medication is being conducted in symptomatic treatment-seeking patients meeting new diagnostic criteria for a putative prodromal syndrome . This identifies them as being at high risk for developing psychosis in the near future . The study aims include prevention of psychosis onset and disability , as well as palliation of ongoing symptomatology . The purpose of this report is to describe the study 's " prodromally symptomatic " sample at baseline , i.e. , at intake immediately prior to r and omization and prior to receiving study medication . Sixty treatment-seeking patients meeting prodromal inclusion criteria were recruited across four sites : New Haven , CT ( n=39 ) , Toronto , Ontario ( n=9 ) , Calgary , Alberta ( n=6 ) , and Chapel Hill , NC ( n=6 ) . The sample was young ( median age 16 ) , largely male ( 65 % ) , and came from families with high titers of serious mental illness ( 44 % ) . Most patients ( 93 % ) met criteria for the Attenuated Positive Symptom ( APS ) prodromal syndrome and presented with significant but nonpsychotic suspiciousness , perceptual aberrations , unusual thought content , and conceptual disorganization . They presented with minimal to mild affective symptoms and substance use/abuse , but they were quite functionally compromised ( mean Global Assessment of Functioning ( GAF ) score=42 ) . The prodromal sample was compared with other clinical -trial sample s of adolescent depression , adolescent mania , and first episode schizophrenia . Prodromal patients proved not to be depressed or manic . They were less severely ill than untreated first episode schizophrenia but more severely ill than treated first episode schizophrenia . While not psychotically disabled , these patients nevertheless present with a clinical syndrome . Subsequent reports will detail the effects of drug versus placebo on prodromal symptoms , neuropsychological profile , and the rate of conversion to psychosis
No convincing evidence suggests that atypical antipsychotic medications are superior to typical medications for the treatment of adolescents with psychosis .
However , atypical antipsychotic medications may be more acceptable to young people because fewer symptomatic adverse effects are seen in the short term .
Little evidence is available to support the superiority of one atypical antipsychotic medication over another , but side effect profiles are different for different medications .
Treatment with olanzapine , risperidone and clozapine is often associated with weight gain .
Aripiprazole is not associated with increased prolactin or with dyslipidaemia .
Adolescents may respond better to st and ard-dose as opposed to lower-dose risperidone , but for aripiprazole and ziprasidone , lower doses may be equally effective .
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia often presents in adolescence , but current treatment guidelines are based largely on studies of adults with psychosis .
Over the past decade , the number of studies on treatment of adolescent-onset psychosis has increased .
The current systematic review collates and critiques evidence obtained on the use of various atypical antipsychotic medications for adolescents with psychosis .
OBJECTIVES To investigate the effects of atypical antipsychotic medications in adolescents with psychosis .
We review ed in separate analyses various comparisons of atypical antipsychotic medications with placebo or a typical antipsychotic medication or another atypical antipsychotic medication or the same atypical antipsychotic medication but at a lower dose .