title: Effect of risperidone on hostility in schizophrenia.
abstract: The objective was to examine effects of risperidone on hostility and compare these effects with those of haloperidol. On the basis of risperidone's pharmacologic profile, we hypothesized that risperidone has a selective effect on hostility and that this effect is greater than that of haloperidol. The data were obtained in a multicenter clinical trial of risperidone under placebo-controlled, double-blind conditions (duration, 9 weeks). The patients were 139 patients with the diagnosis of DSM-III-R schizophrenia. Hostility was measured by the "hostility" item of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Change in hostility served as a dependent variable in the analyses. Change in "psychosis" was applied as a covariate; it helped us examine changes in hostility that were unrelated to change in psychosis (selective effect). Risperidone had a greater selective effect on hostility than did haloperidol or placebo. This finding should encourage tests of risperidone as a treatment for patients who show frequent overt physical aggression.
authors.affiliation: Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Czobor
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Volavka
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Meibach
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D018967:Risperidone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D006220:Haloperidol; D018967:Risperidone