A control study on Aripiprazole versus Risperidone in the treatment of female schizophrenic

Objective:To compare the efficacy and adverse events of Aripiprazole and Risperidone in the treatment of female schizophrenic. Methods :56 female schizophrenic were randomly divided into two groups for 8 weeks. One group was treated with Aripiprazole, another with Risperidone. The clinical efficacy and side effects were evaluated with positive and negative symptom scale (PANSS) and treatment emergent symptom scale (TESS) before and after 2,4,6,8 week's treatments respectively. At the same time, the serum prolactin levels were examined, and change of menstruation were observed before and after 8 weeks. Results: Total effective rates of two groups were 85.71% and 89.29% respectively, which showed no difference ( P 0.05 ). There was no significant difference in the TESS score, but the Aripiprazole group showed lower scores in extra - pyramidal symptoms, prolactin level and menstruation change. Conclusions: Aripiprazole is effective drug, with slight side effects, so it can be as a better choice for the female patients with schizophrenia.