CONCLUSIONS This review provides some support to the notion that patients experiencing antipsychotic side-effects are at risk of developing more negative attitudes toward medication .
BACKGROUND Antipsychotics are associated with a wide range of side-effects .
Many patients experience antipsychotics as unpleasant and something they would rather avoid , leading some of them to discontinue taking their medication .
The importance of evaluating the patients ' perspective , especially their attitudes toward medication in the presence of side-effects , has long been emphasized .
However , no definite conclusion has been made to date on the relationship between antipsychotic side-effects and attitudes toward medication .
OBJECTIVES The objective of this systematic review was to determine the best available evidence regarding the impact of antipsychotic side-effects on attitudes toward medication in patients with schizophrenia and related disorders , which include schizoaffective and schizophreniform disorders .
SEARCH STRATEGY The search aim ed to find published studies using a range of data bases .
Amisulpride versus risperidone in the treatment of schizophrenic patients: a double-blind pilot study in Taiwan.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The atypical antipsychotics , amisulpride and risperidone , have different receptor affinity characteristics . Although the relative efficacy of both drugs compared to conventional antipsychotics is well established , it remains unclear how the efficacy of amisulpride compares with risperidone . There have been no controlled studies comparing amisulpride to risperidone in Asian patients . The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of amisulpride with that of risperidone in Taiwanese schizophrenic patients . METHODS Patients with productive positive symptoms ( n = 48 ) were enrolled into this double-blind , r and omized pilot study for 6 weeks . Patients received either amisulpride ( 400 - 800 mg/day ) or risperidone ( 4 - 8 mg/day ) . Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale ( PANSS ) , Clinical Global Impression ( CGI ) , Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale ( SOFAS ) , and patients ' subjective responses to treatment were assessed during the trial period . Adverse events were recorded at each follow-up visit . RESULTS At the end of the trial , the mean dosage was 630 + /- 134 mg/day and 6.88 + /- 1.54 mg/day for amisulpride and risperidone , respectively . There was no significant difference in the reduction of the PANSS total score ( amisulpride -24.1 versus risperidone -28.4 , p = 0.999 ) , the PANSS positive subscale score ( amisulpride -6.8 versus risperidone -8.3 , p = 0.467 ) , the PANSS negative subscale score ( amisulpride -5.6 versus risperidone -6.4 , p = 0.999 ) , or the CGI score between the two groups . The extrapyramidal symptom ratings , the improvement in the SOFAS ( amisulpride 11.1 versus risperidone 10.0 ) and the subjective response ( amisulpride 82 % versus risperidone 83 % ) were comparable . No serious adverse events were recorded in either treatment group . There was a statistically significant body weight gain in the risperidone group . In contrast , there was a statistically , though not clinical ly , significant reduction of blood pressure and heart rate in the amisulpride group . CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that amisulpride is as effective as risperidone in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia . Both drugs were well tolerated , but had different side effect profiles
CONCLUSIONS This review provides some support to the notion that patients experiencing antipsychotic side-effects are at risk of developing more negative attitudes toward medication .
BACKGROUND Antipsychotics are associated with a wide range of side-effects .
Many patients experience antipsychotics as unpleasant and something they would rather avoid , leading some of them to discontinue taking their medication .
The importance of evaluating the patients ' perspective , especially their attitudes toward medication in the presence of side-effects , has long been emphasized .
However , no definite conclusion has been made to date on the relationship between antipsychotic side-effects and attitudes toward medication .
OBJECTIVES The objective of this systematic review was to determine the best available evidence regarding the impact of antipsychotic side-effects on attitudes toward medication in patients with schizophrenia and related disorders , which include schizoaffective and schizophreniform disorders .
SEARCH STRATEGY The search aim ed to find published studies using a range of data bases .