title: Efficacy and safety of aripiprazole vs. haloperidol for long-term maintenance treatment following acute relapse of schizophrenia.
abstract: Aripiprazole is a novel atypical antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia. It is a D2 receptor partial agonist with partial agonist activity at 5-HT1A receptors and antagonist activity at 5-HT2A receptors. The long-term efficacy and safety of aripiprazole (30 mg/d) relative to haloperidol (10 mg/d) were investigated in two 52-wk, randomized, double-blind, multicentre studies (using similar protocols which were prospectively identified to be pooled for analysis) in 1294 patients in acute relapse with a diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia and who had previously responded to antipsychotic medications. Aripiprazole demonstrated long-term efficacy that was comparable or superior to haloperidol across all symptoms measures, including significantly greater improvements for PANSS negative subscale scores and MADRS total score (p<0.05). The time to discontinuation for any reason was significantly greater with aripiprazole than with haloperidol (p=0.0001). Time to discontinuation due to adverse events or lack of efficacy was significantly greater with aripiprazole than with haloperidol (p=0.0001). Aripiprazole was associated with significantly lower scores on all extrapyramidal symptoms assessments than haloperidol (p<0.001). In summary, aripiprazole demonstrated efficacy equivalent or superior to haloperidol with associated benefits for safety and tolerability. Aripiprazole represents a promising new option for the long-term treatment of schizophrenia.
authors: Department of General Psychiatry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. sk@akih-wien.ac.at
authors: Siegfried
authors: S
authors: Kasper
authors: Mark N
authors: MN
authors: Lerman
authors: Robert D
authors: RD
authors: McQuade
authors: Anutosh
authors: A
authors: Saha
authors: William H
authors: WH
authors: Carson
authors: Mirza
authors: M
authors: Ali
authors: Donald
authors: D
authors: Archibald
authors: Gary
authors: G
authors: Ingenito
authors: Ronald
authors: R
authors: Marcus
authors: Teresa
authors: T
authors: Pigott
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000068180:Aripiprazole; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000187:drug effects; D010879:Piperazines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015363:Quinolones / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012008:Recurrence; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D010879:Piperazines; D015363:Quinolones; D000068180:Aripiprazole; D006220:Haloperidol