Patients with schizophrenia who are treated with the atypical antipsychotic Quetiapine ( Seroquel ) show significantly superior rates of treatment compliance compared to patients treated with other atypical and typical antipsychotics.

The findings show Quetiapine to have the highest compliance rate of both typicals and atypicals, which was significantly ( p<0.05 ) greater than that of Risperidone ( 6% greater ) and Olanzapine ( 4% greater ).

" Compliance with medication is fundamental to a successful treatment outcome in schizophrenia. However, all too often patients have to struggle with medications that cause distressing side effects such as extrapyramidal symptoms ( EPS ), increased prolactin levels leading to galactorroeha and sexual dysfunction, which makes complying with treatment a challenge many patients find too difficult to overcome " commented Michael Riedel from the Munich University Hospital, Germany.
" Two other studies compared the cognitive benefits of Quetiapine and Risperidone in patients with schizophrenia, demonstrating improvements in cognitive function among Seroquel-treated patients.

In a randomized, double-blind study of 44 patients, both Quetiapine and Risperidone improved cognition in patients with schizophrenia over a 6-week period.
However, Quetiapine ( at a mean dose of 566.7 mg/day ) produced significantly greater improvements in working and verbal memory than Risperidone ( p<0.01 and p<0.05 vs Risperidone, respectively ), with a significantly lower incidence of EPS, a highly distressing treatment-induced side effect.

In an 8-week, double-blind, flexible-dose, parallel study randomizing 673 patients with schizophrenia, cognitive benefits of Quetiapine ( mean modal dose of 530 mg/day ) and Risperidone were compared. Both medications were associated with overall improvements in cognitive functioning ( p<0.01 ) versus baseline.

"It is encouraging to see that Quetiapine appears to be at least as effective as Risperidone in improving cognitive function while also demonstrating a superior side effect profile in terms of extrapyramidal symptoms " continued Riedel. " Cognitive impairment is a serious symptom but one which is sometimes perceived as less important than some other symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations. However, recent studies have found that cognitive function is directly related to many areas of social interaction, and can limit an individual from being able to benefit fully from rehabilitation programmes. That is why treating these symptoms effectively is so important."

Quetiapine has been licensed for the treatment of schizophrenia since 1997 and is available in 82 countries for the treatment of this condition.
Results of recent studies show that 600mg/day is an efficacious Quetiapine dose in patients with schizophrenia.
Quetiapine is also licensed in 63 countries for the treatment of mania associated with bipolar disorder, including the US, Canada and several European countries.

Source: American Psychiatry Association ( APA ) Annual Meeting, 2005


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