Conditions: Schizoaffective Disorder Psychotic Disorder
Keywords: Schizoaffective Disorder antipsychotic paliperidone placebo
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 307
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to measure the effectiveness and assess the safety of different dosages (from 3 mg/day to 12 mg/day) of the antipsychotic paliperidone extended-release (ER) in patients who are experiencing an acute episode of schizoaffective disorder.

Detailed description:
Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are closely related in terms of symptoms, coexisting conditions, and genetic risk. In previous studies in patients with schizophrenia, treatment with paliperidone extended-release (ER) improved psychotic symptoms, as well as mood symptoms evaluated by anxiety/depression and hostility/excitement Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia (PANSS) factor scores. Therefore, paliperidone ER may also be effective in treating symptoms of schizoaffective disorder. Paliperidone's limited potential for drug-drug interaction is particularly important in this patient population, in which multiple drug therapy is relatively common. This multicenter, double-blind (neither the patient nor the physician knows whether drug or placebo is being taken, or at what dosage), randomized (patients are assigned different treatments based on chance), placebo-controlled, parallel-group study is designed to examine the effectiveness and safety of paliperidone ER in adult patients with schizoaffective disorder who are experiencing an acute episode of this disorder. Patients in the study will be randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups to receive 6 weeks of oral treatment with flexible dosages of paliperidone ER (3-12 mg/day) or with placebo. The primary efficacy outcome will be the change from baseline to Week 6, or the last post-randomization assessment during double-blind treatment (endpoint), in the PANSS total score. Safety will be assessed by monitoring adverse events, clinical laboratory testing, pregnancy testing, vital signs measurements, physical examination, administration of a 12-lead ECG, movement disorders side effect scales, and the InterSePT Scale for Suicidal Thinking. Patients may also choose to participate in a pharmacogenomic (DNA) analysis. The primary study hypothesis is that flexible-dose paliperidone ER is better than placebo on the change from baseline in the PANSS total score in acutely ill patients with schizoaffective disorder. Patients will receive study drug by mouth for a total of 43 days. Beginning on Day 1, patients will take either placebo or paliperidone ER 6 mg/day. After day 4, dosages may be adjusted, at defined intervals, to a dosage between 3 mg/day and 12 mg/day, inclusive.

Arms:
arm 1: Paliperidone ER (3-12mg/day in 3 mg/day increments for 6 weeks) arm 2: Paliperidone ER (3-12mg/day in 3 mg/day increments for 6 weeks) arm 3: Placebo for 6 weeks

Interventions: intervention 1: Placebo intervention 2: Paliperidone ER intervention 3: Paliperidone ER
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: for 6 weeks intervention 2: (3-12mg/day in 3 mg/day increments for 6 weeks) intervention 3: (3-12mg/day in 3 mg/day increments for 6 weeks)

Protocol document: