A comparative study of the efficacy of aripiprazole vs.ziprasidone in treatment for schizophrenia

Objective To compare the efficacy of aripiprazole and ziprasidone in treatment for patients with schizophrenia.Methods A total of 103 patients with first-episode schizophrenia were randomly and double-blindedly divided into aripiprazole group(51 cases) and ziprasidone group(52 cases) for 10-week treatment.All patients were assessed with Positive and Negative Symptom Scale(PANSS),Clinical Global Impression Scale(CGI),Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale(TESS) at the baseline and at the 2nd,6th,10th weekend of the treatment to evaluate the efficacy and side effects.Results There was no significant difference in efficacy between the two groups at the end of the treatment(P0.05).The incidence rate of nausea and vomitting(P0.05),headache(P0.01) in aripiprazole group were significantly higher than those in ziprasidone group.Incidence rate of dry mouth,anorexia in ziprasidone group were significantly higer than those in aripiprazole group(P0.05).There were no serious extrapyramidal symptoms(EPS),weight gain and menstrual disorder in the two groups.Lactation was not found during the treatment in both groups.Conclusion The efficacy of aripiprazole is equivalent with ziprasidone in the treatment of schizophrenia.The side effects are different between the two antipsychotics,but all the side effects are mild.The two antipsychotics have littele effect on body weight and endocrine.