A Comparison between the Therapeutic Effects of Aripiprazole and Risperidone in the Treatment of Schizophrenia

Objective To study the therapeutic effectiveness and safety of aripiprazole and risperidone in the treatment of schizophrenia. Methods 60 patients with schizophrenia meeting the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders third edition(CCMD-3) criteria were randomly divided into two equal groups: the trial group and control group.Patients of the trial group were given each an initial dose of 5 mg of aripiprazole PO q.d..The daily dose was increased by 5-10 mg every week until the therapeutic dose of 10～30 mg·d-1 was reached.Patients of the control group were given each 1 mg of risperidone PO q.d.as an initial dose.The dose was increased by 1 mg every 3rd to 7th day until a daily dose of 4 mg was reached within 2 weeks and the therapeutic dose was 2～6 mg·d-1.The course of treatment in both groups lasted 8 weeks.The therapeutic effectiveness and adverse reactions were assayed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS) and Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale(TESS),respectively. Results At the end of the 8 week treatment,the rate of excellent therapeutic effects was 63.3% in patients of the trial group as well in those of the control group.The overall effective rates in patients of the trial group and control group were 90.0% and 86.7%,respectively(P0.05).The scores of positive and negative symptoms in patients of both groups were significantly lowered(P0.01).The incidence of adverse reactions,however,was significantly lower in patients of the trial group than that in patients of the control group(P0.01). Conclusion Aripiprazole was shown to be as effective as risperidone in the treatment of schizophrenia while the incidence of adverse reaction of the former drug was lower.