Faculty Bibliography

Subjects were patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder enrolled in extension studies (Study A and Study B) after participating in 12-week studies of long-acting injectable risperidone [Kane, J.M., Eerdekens, M., Lindenmayer, J.-P., Keith, S.J., Lesem, M., Karcher, K., 2003. Long-acting injectable risperidone: efficacy and safety of the first long-acting atypical antipsychotic. Am. J. Psychiatry 160, 1125-1132; Lindenmayer, J.-P., Eerdekens, L., Berry, S., Eerdekens, M., 2004. Safety and efficacy of long-acting risperidone in schizophrenia: a 12-week, multicenter, open-label study in stable patients switched from typical and atypical oral antipsychotics. J. Clin. Psychiatry 65, 1084-1089]. Twelve months of treatment were completed by 55% of Study A patients and 52% of Study B patients. The median modal dose of long-acting injectable risperidone was 50 mg/14 days in both studies. Most frequent adverse events were psychosis, headache, insomnia, agitation, and rhinitis. EPS-related adverse events were reported in 33% of patients in Study A and 22% in Study B. Patients with Clinical Global Impressions ratings of "not ill" and "mild" increased from 14% at baseline to 54% at endpoint in Study A and from 42% to 65% in Study B. It is concluded that treatment with long-acting injectable risperidone for 1 year or longer appeared to be safe and well tolerated in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

The aim of the study was to investigate transcultural differences between schizophrenia spectrum disorder patients who did or did not attempt suicide. DSM-IV schizophrenia (N=609) or schizoaffective disorder (N=371) patients who participated in the multicentre International Suicide Prevention Trial (InterSePT) were studied. Patients were sub-divided into 5 groups according to the different geographical regions of recruitment: North America (NA), Europe (EUR), East Europe (EEUR), South Africa (SAf), and South America (SA). The main lifetime clinical variables were compared, within each group, between attempters and non-attempters. The presence of comorbid substance abuse disorder and smoking was associated with suicide attempts in all the geographical groups considered (NA: chi(1)(2)=7.575, p<0.01 and chi(1)(2)=69.549, p<0.0001; EUR: chi(1)(2)=55.068, p<0.0001, and chi(1)(2)=48.431, p<0.0001; EEUR: chi(1)(2)=164.628, p<0.000, and chi(1)(2)=5.127, p<0.01; SA: chi(1)(2)=30.204, p<0.0001 and chi(1)(2)=11.710, p=0.001) except for SAf. For the other clinical variables various differences were found across the different groups. Variables related to suicide behavior were similar across the five groups investigated, with differences only in the age at the first suicide attempt (earlier in the NA sample) and the number of lifetime suicide attempts (higher in the NA sample). Results from this study show that, while some suicide-related clinical characteristics in schizophrenia patients are consistent worldwide suggesting the influence of stable biological traits, other variables may vary across different geographical areas suggesting environmental influences

Caudate dysfunction is implicated in schizophrenia. However, little is known about the relationship between aggression and caudate volumes. Forty-nine patients received magnetic resonance imaging scanning in a double-blind treatment study in which aggression was measured. Caudate volumes were computed using a semiautomated method. The authors measured aggression with the Overt Aggression Scale and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Larger caudate volumes were associated with greater levels of aggression. The relationship between aggression and caudate volumes may be related to the iatrogenic effects of long-term treatment with typical antipsychotic agents or to a direct effect of schizophrenic processes on the caudate.

BACKGROUND: A substantial number of patients with psychosis receive quetiapine in amounts that are greater than what is recommended in the product labeling approved by drug regulatory agencies. The purpose of this article is to review the past and present dosing patterns of quetiapine for the treatment of schizophrenia. METHOD: A PubMed search for the period January 1, 1990, to July 1, 2005, was conducted to identify English-language articles related to quetiapine dose in schizophrenia using the search terms quetiapine, dose, and schizophrenia. Trends in dosing of quetiapine in a large, state-operated psychiatric hospital system and the anecdotal evidence describing the use of quetiapine in excess of 800 mg/day were also reviewed. RESULTS: The registration studies of quetiapine suggest a target dose range of 300 to 500 mg/day for schizophrenia. In contrast, among inpatients hospitalized in New York State in the period of April 1, 2004, to June 30, 2004, the mean dose of quetiapine prescribed was 620 mg/day, with 33.6% receiving doses in excess of 750 mg/day. Patients with nonwhite ethnicity, length of stay of at least 1 year, or history of prior state hospital admission were more likely to receive doses greater than 750 mg/day. Patients receiving quetiapine as antipsychotic monotherapy or in combination with other antipsychotics were equally likely to receive doses greater than 750 mg/day. Published anecdotal reports describe the use of quetiapine in excess of 800 mg/day and up to 2400 mg/day among patients not responding to lower doses, but currently there are no published reports from double-blind randomized clinical trials establishing the utility of this high-dose treatment strategy. CONCLUSIONS: Dosing of quetiapine in clinical practice is higher than what has been established in the registration program for schizophrenia. Although there is anecdotal evidence describing the use of quetiapine in excess of 800 mg/day, double-blind randomized clinical trials are needed