At the time of this review , seven AAPs were available in Canada : aripiprazole clozapine olanzapine paliperidone quetiapine risperidone ziprasidone
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that requires lifelong treatment and is associated with symptoms that include hallucinations , delusions , cognitive impairment , disorganized thoughts , social withdrawal , and low motivation .
Antipsychotic medications are effective at relieving the symptoms of schizophrenia , and they form the foundation of treatment .
Risperidone in treatment-refractory schizophrenia.
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of risperidone compared to haloperidol in patients with treatment-refractory schizophrenia . METHOD Sixty-seven medication-unresponsive subjects were r and omly assigned to treatment with risperidone ( N = 34 ) or haloperidol ( N = 33 ) . After a 3 - 7 day-placebo washout period , there was a 4-week , double-blind , fixed-dose comparison trial that was followed by a 4-week , flexible-dose phase . Measures of clinical change were quantified by st and ard psychopathologic and neuromotor instruments . RESULTS Risperidone demonstrated clinical efficacy superior to that of haloperidol on the total Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ( BPRS ) after the first 4 weeks of treatment . Risperidone did not show any advantage over haloperidol after an additional 4 weeks . Overall improvement on the BPRS at 4 weeks was significantly better for the risperidone group ( 24 % ) than for the haloperidol group ( 11 % ) . Risperidone-treated subjects were significantly less likely than haloperidol-treated subjects to require concomitant anticholinergic medication after 4 weeks ( 20 % versus 63 % ) ; they also had significantly les observable akathisia ( 24 % versus 53 % ) and significantly less severe tardive dyskinesia . Baseline characteristics that correlated significantly with risperidone response were positive symptoms , conceptual disorganization , akathisia , and tardive dyskinesia . CONCLUSIONS Risperidone was better tolerated and more effective in a subset of patients with treatment-refractory schizophrenia . Positive psychotic symptoms and extrapyramidal side effects at baseline appear to be powerful predictors of subsequent response to risperidone
At the time of this review , seven AAPs were available in Canada : aripiprazole clozapine olanzapine paliperidone quetiapine risperidone ziprasidone
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that requires lifelong treatment and is associated with symptoms that include hallucinations , delusions , cognitive impairment , disorganized thoughts , social withdrawal , and low motivation .
Antipsychotic medications are effective at relieving the symptoms of schizophrenia , and they form the foundation of treatment .