This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (12) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gastpar, M. Articles by Lombertie, E. -R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gastpar, M. Articles by Lombertie, E. -R. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Sustained improvement of clinical outcome with risperidone long-acting injectable in psychotic patients previously treated with olanzapine

Department of Psychiatry, University of Essen, Essen, Germany, m.gastpar{at}uni-essen.de

M. Masiak

Katedra i Klinika Psychiatrii AM, Lublin, Poland

M. A. Latif

Mental Health Unit, Horsham Hospital, Hurst Road, Horsham, West Sussex, UK

S. Frazzingaro

DSM ASL 22, Bussolengo, Italy

R. Medori

Janssen-Cilag, Medical Affairs, EMEA, Beerse, Belgium

E. -R. Lombertie

CHS Esquirol, LIMOGES CEDEX, France

The efficacy and tolerability of risperidone long-acting injectable were investigated in patients with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders who had previously been symptomatically stable on olanzapine treatment. Patients received risperidone long-acting injectable, 25mg, by intramuscular injection every 2 weeks; the dose could be increased to 37.5 or 50 mg if necessary. Patients were transferred directly from their previous medication to risperidone long-acting injectable without a runin period of oral risperidone treatment.

Of 192 patients recruited, 134 patients (70%) completed the study. The principal reasons for discontinuation were withdrawal of consent (8%), adverse events (6%), insufficient response (5%) and non-compliance (4%). Risperidone long-acting injectable produced a significant improvement (p = 0.0001) in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total scores, from 74.2±21.3 at baseline to 65.8±21.4 at endpoint. There were also significant reductions in PANSS subscales (positive symptoms, negative symptoms, general psycho-pharmacology) and Marder factor scores. The Clinical Global Impression increased significantly from baseline to endpoint (p = 0.0001), as reflected by the increase in the proportion of patients rated as ‘not ill’ or ‘borderline ill’ from 10% at baseline to 21% at endpoint. Risperidone long-acting injectable was also associated with significant improvements in Global Assessment of Function, patient satisfaction with treatment, and quality of life, measured on the SF-36 scale. Movement disorders, measured on the Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale, were significantly reduced following the change to risperidone long-acting injectable. Treatment with risperidone long-acting injectable was well tolerated, and no significant weight gain occurred during the study.

This open study suggests that risperidone long-acting injectable produces symptomatic improvement in schizophrenia patients previously considered symptomatically stable with olanzapine, along with improvement in movement disorders. The combination of improved efficacy and good tolerability may have important implications for patient adherence to therapy and subsequent long-term outcomes.

Key Words: risperidone • olanzapine • long-acting • antipsychotics for injection • efficacy

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Taylor, A. Currie, K. Lloyd, M. Price, and K. Peperell Impact of risperidone long acting injection on resource utilization in psychiatric secondary care J Psychopharmacol, March 1, 2008; 22(2): 128 - 131. [Abstract] [PDF]