Studies Offer New Information About Treatment Choices for Schizophrenia
On behalf of the Office of Constituency Relations and Public Liaison at the NIMH, the following Science Update has been posted on the NIMH website:
April 1, 2006
A national clinical trial comparing clozapine with other new-generation antipsychotic medications for the treatment of chronic schizophrenia has shown that people who switched to clozapine from their first medication because it failed to manage symptoms adequately, were twice as likely to continue treatment as patients who switched to other antipsychotic medications.
A companion study found that for people who switched to new-generation antipsychotic medications other than clozapine, those who took olanzapine and risperidone continued taking their medication longer than people taking quetiapine and ziprasadone. The results of the trial, which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, were published in two papers in the April
2006 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The results of CATIE - Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness - offer the 2.4 million adults in the United States with chronic schizophrenia and their doctors information that can help tailor treatments to the individual needs of patients. In phase 2 of this study,
543 people were studied in 57 different treatment sites to provide guidance to help doctors determine what to do next when patients need to change medications, a common occurrence in treating schizophrenia. Research has shown that patients who consistently receive treatment do much better than those who stop taking their medications, so finding the right treatment is crucial.
Doctors now have more information to guide the selection of the next antipsychotic medication to try in treating people with schizophrenia if treatment with a first antipsychotic is not successful. The results have shown that the reason why the first medication was stopped is an important consideration in choosing the next medication. Specifically, the success of symptom management and side effects experienced by the patient on the first medication may help predict which medication may be more successful next.
For complete Science Update, go to:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/press/catie_phase2.cfm
For Questions and Answers about phase 2 of the trial, go to:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/catie_qa2.cfm
For more information about the CATIE trial, go to:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/catie.cfm
