Findings related to effectiveness ( treatment discontinuation , quality of life , and neurocognitive improvements ) were generally consistent with those observed in non-Chinese population s. No new safety signals specific for Chinese population s were raised for olanzapine .
Chinese and non-Chinese population s with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder treated with olanzapine display broadly similar responses .
BACKGROUND Despite the burden of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the Chinese population , country-specific data to guide practitioners regarding antipsychotic therapy are lacking .
Effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs in patients with chronic schizophrenia.
BACKGROUND The relative effectiveness of second-generation ( atypical ) antipsychotic drugs as compared with that of older agents has been incompletely addressed , though newer agents are currently used far more commonly . We compared a first-generation antipsychotic , perphenazine , with several newer drugs in a double-blind study . METHODS A total of 1493 patients with schizophrenia were recruited at 57 U.S. sites and r and omly assigned to receive olanzapine ( 7.5 to 30 mg per day ) , perphenazine ( 8 to 32 mg per day ) , quetiapine ( 200 to 800 mg per day ) , or risperidone ( 1.5 to 6.0 mg per day ) for up to 18 months . Ziprasidone ( 40 to 160 mg per day ) was included after its approval by the Food and Drug Administration . The primary aim was to delineate differences in the overall effectiveness of these five treatments . RESULTS Overall , 74 percent of patients discontinued the study medication before 18 months ( 1061 of the 1432 patients who received at least one dose ) : 64 percent of those assigned to olanzapine , 75 percent of those assigned to perphenazine , 82 percent of those assigned to quetiapine , 74 percent of those assigned to risperidone , and 79 percent of those assigned to ziprasidone . The time to the discontinuation of treatment for any cause was significantly longer in the olanzapine group than in the quetiapine ( P<0.001 ) or risperidone ( P=0.002 ) group , but not in the perphenazine ( P=0.021 ) or ziprasidone ( P=0.028 ) group . The times to discontinuation because of intolerable side effects were similar among the groups , but the rates differed ( P=0.04 ) ; olanzapine was associated with more discontinuation for weight gain or metabolic effects , and perphenazine was associated with more discontinuation for extrapyramidal effects . CONCLUSIONS The majority of patients in each group discontinued their assigned treatment owing to inefficacy or intolerable side effects or for other reasons . Olanzapine was the most effective in terms of the rates of discontinuation , and the efficacy of the conventional antipsychotic agent perphenazine appeared similar to that of quetiapine , risperidone , and ziprasidone . Olanzapine was associated with greater weight gain and increases in measures of glucose and lipid metabolism
Findings related to effectiveness ( treatment discontinuation , quality of life , and neurocognitive improvements ) were generally consistent with those observed in non-Chinese population s. No new safety signals specific for Chinese population s were raised for olanzapine .
Chinese and non-Chinese population s with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder treated with olanzapine display broadly similar responses .
BACKGROUND Despite the burden of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the Chinese population , country-specific data to guide practitioners regarding antipsychotic therapy are lacking .