Conditions: Schizophrenia
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 219
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This study will evaluate the effectiveness of switching medications in decreasing schizophrenia symptoms in individuals who are currently taking an antipsychotic medication for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Detailed description:
Over the past several years, new, "atypical" antipsychotic medications have become available to treat schizophrenia with little information to guide prescribing for relatively stable outpatients.

Participants will be randomly assigned to either continue taking their current medications for schizophrenia, or to switch to a new medication. Participants assigned to switch to a new medication will begin receiving either olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidone (Risperdal), ziprasidone (Geodon), quetiapine (Seroquel), or aripiprazole (Abilify), depending on what they are currently taking. Participants currently taking a single oral medication will switch to olanzapine, risperidone, ziprasidone, quetiapine, or aripiprazole. Participants currently taking a single conventional injectable will begin taking long-acting injectable risperidone (Risperdal Consta). Participants currently taking two antipsychotic medications will begin taking only one of the medications they are currently using. Participants will stay on their assigned treatment for 6 months, after which time the participant's prescribing psychiatrist will advise the participant on which medication should be used. Study participants are interviewed at study start and at follow-up visits for 1 year.

Arms:
arm 1: Participants will continue taking medication prescribed at study entry: 1) either long-acting injectable haloperidol or fluphenazine, OR 2) two antipsychotic medications which might include a combination of any of the following: risperidone, olanzapine, ziprasidone, quetiapine, aripiprazole, or conventional (typical) antipsychotic medications. arm 2: Participants will change medications from medication prescribed at study entry, either: 1) long-acting injectable risperidone, OR 2) one of the two antipsychotic medications prescribed at baseline which may include any of the following: risperidone, olanzapine, ziprasidone, quetiapine, aripiprazole, or conventional (typical) antipsychotic medications.

Interventions: intervention 1: Risperidone intervention 2: Olanzapine intervention 3: Ziprasidone intervention 4: Quetiapine intervention 5: Aripiprazole
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: As prescribed by routine prescriber (not dictated by study protocol) intervention 2: As prescribed by routine prescriber (not dictated by study protocol) intervention 3: As prescribed by routine prescriber (not dictated by study protocol) intervention 4: As prescribed by routine prescriber (not dictated by study protocol) intervention 5: As prescribed by routine prescriber (not dictated by study protocol)

Protocol document: