title: Changes in neurocognitive function in patients with schizophrenia after starting or switching to amisulpride in comparison with the normal controls.
abstract: We examined short- and long-term changes in neurocognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia who were either started or switched to amisulpride in comparison with the normal controls. Fifty-seven patients treated with amisulpride and 60 normal controls completed a comprehensive neurocognitive function test battery at the baseline, the 8-week, and the 1-year follow-up. We conducted and compared the results of both intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses to account for the follow-up loss. Three general results obtained were as follows: (1) the degree of the improvements in neurocognitive function was comparable to those of other second-generation antipsychotics in both ITT and PP analysis; (2) in light of the relative effect size, the composite effect size and the effect size in most measures in both ITT and PP analyses were smaller for the patient group than those of the control group, signifying that improvement in performance may be largely attributable to practice effects; and (3) nonetheless, there were evidences of both short- and long-term improvements in some cognitive tasks, such as in the Korean-Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale vocabulary subtest and the Trail Making Test, that may not be accounted by practice effect. These results suggest the need to include a healthy control group to validate the medication effect of cognitive improvements in patients with schizophrenia and to consider practice effect in interpreting the results of repeated administration of neurocognitive function tests.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Chongno-Gu, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Kyu Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chul-Eung
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae-Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dae-Yeob
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Tae-Youn
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.forename: Jin Sook
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: In-Won
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Se Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Samuel S-H
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Yong Sik
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000077582:Amisulpride; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013469:Sulpiride / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013997:Time Factors; D014145:Trail Making Test; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014888:Wechsler Scales; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D013469:Sulpiride; D000077582:Amisulpride