title: Long-acting risperidone improves negative symptoms in stable psychotic patients.
abstract: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the efficacy of risperidone long-acting injectable (RLAI) for reducing negative symptoms of schizophrenia in patients with predominantly negative symptoms at baseline. A subanalysis was performed on data from the 6-month, open-label Switch to Risperidone Microspheres trial. Patients with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) negative subscale score > or = 21, which was higher than their PANSS positive subscale score, were included in this subanalysis. Improvement in negative symptoms was measured by assessing change in the PANSS negative subscale and a negative factor score. Additional outcome variables included measures in general functioning, quality of life and patient satisfaction. A total of 842 patients were eligible for inclusion in this subanalysis. Six months of treatment was completed by 631 (74.9%) patients. Forty-three (5.1%) patients discontinued treatment due to an adverse event. Negative symptoms were significantly reduced by 6.1 +/- 6.3 points for the PANSS negative score and 6.1 +/- 6.4 points for the negative factor score (P < 0.0001 for both). Significant improvements were also noted for total PANSS and other PANSS subscale scores, general functioning, quality of life and patient satisfaction (P < 0.0001). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events (>5%) were: anxiety (6.8% of patients), exacerbation of disease (6.2%) and insomnia (5.7%). Overall, RLAI was well tolerated and associated with significant reductions in movement disorder severity. The treatment resulted in a significant improvement in negative symptom severity and was well tolerated in patients with predominantly negative symptoms, who switched from a stable antipsychotic regimen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Maudsley Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Katsafouros
authors.forename: H-J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Medori
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sacchetti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D023381:Endpoint Determination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008863:Microspheres; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D018967:Risperidone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D018967:Risperidone