Effects of various doses of aripiprazole on antipsychotics-induced hyperprolactinemia: an add-on therapy study

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of different doses of aripirazole in second-generation antipsychotics-induced hyperprolactinemia.Methods Two hundred patients with second-generationantipsychotics (risperidone,olanzapine,quetiapine,paliperidoneandziprasidone) induced hyperprolactinemia were randomly assigned to groups of combined with aripiprazole 5 mg/d or 10 mg/d treatment,respectively.The plasma prolactin (PRL) level was measured before and 2,4 and 6 weeks after treatment,Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS) were used to assess the psychotic symptoms and adverse effects 6 weeks after treatment.Results The PRL level 2 and 4 weeks after treatment at both 5 mg and 10 mg aripiprazole groups was significantly lower than that of baseline (P＜0.05),but there was no statistical difference between the two groups (P＞0.05); The PRL level 6 weeks after treatment at 5 mg aripiprazole group was significantly lower than that of baseline,and 2 and 4 weeks after treatment (P＜0.05),and statistical difference was noted between the two groups 6 weeks after treatment (P＜0.05).As compared with the baseline,the PANSS scores in both groups 6 weeks after treatment showed significant reduction (P＜0.05),but there was no statistical difference between the two groups (P＞0.05).The adverse effect rate of 10 mg aripiprazole group was significantly higher than that of 5 mg aripiprazole group (P＜0.05).Conclusion Treatments with 5 mg and 10 mg of aripiprazole show improvement in hyperprolactinemia induced by second-generation antipsychotics,and 5 mg/d aripirazole is the better combination dose. Key words: Aripiprazole;  Schizophrenia;  Hyperprolactinemia;  Second generation antipsychotics