A controlled study on aripiprazole and risperidone in the treatment of schizophrenic patients

OBJECTIVE To research the therapeutic and side effects of aripiprazole in the treatment of first-run schizophrenic out-patients.METHODS 70 schizophrenic patients by CCMD-3 and DSM-Ⅳ were randomly allocated to two groups treated with aripiprazole and risperidone for 8 weeks.the positive and negative symptoms scale(PANSS) and the treatment emergent symptoms scale(TESS)were used to evaluate efficacy and adverse effects respectively before and at the ends of 2,4,6,8 weeks of treatment. RESULTS The total efficacy rate for the aripiprazole and risperidone groups were 85.71% and 82.86% after 8 weeks.There was no significant difference between the two groups(P0.05).Incidence of adverse effects in the aripiprazole group was lower than that in the risperidone group(P0.01).The rate of extrapyramidal syndrome and endocrine change were significantly higher in the risperidone group than those in the aripiprazole group(P0.01).While these side effects were not serious.CONCLUSION The results suggest that aripiprazole is as effective as resperidone for the treatment of first-run schizophrenia.but two agents have different side effects profile,and patients often had good torlerability for them.