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news.Findings from three studies show that schizophrenia patients taking atypical antipsychotics such as Eli Lilly's Zyprexa or Novartis' Clozaril stayed on their medication longer than patients taking older, typical antipsychotics, allowing for potentially greater clinical improvements.
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One of the studies revealed that patients taking olanzapine (Eli Lilly’s Zyprexa) or clozapine (Novartis’ Clozaril) remained on treatment longer than other atypicals (risperidone – Johnson & Johnson’s Risperdal, quetiapine – AstraZeneca’s Seroquel, or ziprasidone – Pfizer’s Geodon) or the typical perphenazine. The mean time to discontinuation differed by 84 days for clozapine and 48 days for olanzapine.
Another study demonstrated that longer time to trial discontinuation appeared to link to significantly greater improvements in symptoms and quality of life as measured by standard psychiatric measures.
Among the findings, researchers concluded that when compared to olanzapine, patients treated with haloperidol had a 40% greater risk of discontinuing treatment, risperidone-treated patients had a 30% greater risk, ziprasidone-treated patients had a 60% greater risk and quetiapine-treated patients had a 40% greater risk.
A third study pooled data from six longer-term studies assessed the impact of duration of treatment with patient outcomes. The analysis studied patients with schizophrenia taking olanzapine, haloperidol, risperidone, quetiapine, or ziprasidone. Longer participation in the trials was significantly associated with greater clinical improvements
“When patients with schizophrenia stop taking antipsychotic medication as prescribed, they are at greater risk of relapse and hospitalization,” said Dr Jeff Swanson, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center, and an investigator in one of the studies.
“One study showed patients who adhered to recommended treatment consistently over time tend to experience reduction in symptoms, and improved functional outcomes. Other studies showed significant differences among antipsychotics with regard to patient adherence, which should be considered when choosing the most appropriate treatment for patients with schizophrenia.”