Clinical outcomes of long-acting injectable risperidone in patients with schizophrenia: six-month follow-up from the Electronic Schizophrenia Treatment Adherence Registry in Latin America

Rogelio Apiquian1, Rodrigo Córdoba2, Mario Louzã31Americas University, Behavior and Development Sciences Division, Mexico City, Mexico; 2Nervous System Research Center-CISNE, Bogota, Colombia; 3Schizophrenia Research Program, Institute of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, BrazilBackground: Risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) has been shown to be efficacious, improve compliance, and increase long-term retention rate on therapy. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of RLAI on clinical outcome and hospitalization rate in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder enrolled in the electronic Schizophrenia Treatment Adherence Registry in Latin America.Methods: Data were collected at baseline, retrospectively for the 12 months prior to baseline, and prospectively every three months for 24 months. Hospitalization prior to therapy was assessed by a retrospective chart review. Efficacy and functioning were evaluated using Clinical Global Impression of Illness Severity (CGI-S), Personal and Social Performance (PSP), and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores. Relapse and treatment were also registered.Results: Patients were recruited in Mexico (n = 53), Brazil (n = 11), and Colombia (n = 15). Sixty-five percent (n = 52) were male, and mean age was 32.9 years. Patients were classified as having schizophrenia (n = 73) or schizoaffective disorder (n = 6). The mean dose of RLAI at six months was 34.1 mg (standard deviation = 10.2 mg). The percentage of hospitalized patients before treatment was 28.2% and 5.1% at six months after initiating RLAI (P < 0.001). Significant changes were registered on CGI-S, GAF, and PSP scores.Conclusions: RLAI was associated with an improvement in clinical symptoms and functioning, and a greater reduction in hospitalization.Keywords: long-acting, risperidone, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, Latin Americ

The effects of amisulpride on five dimensions of psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia: a prospective open- label study

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of antipsychotics can be evaluated using the dimensional models of schizophrenic symptoms. The D(2)/D(3)-selective antagonist amisulpride has shown similar efficacy and tolerability to other atypical antipsychotics. The aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy of amisulpride on the dimensional model of schizophrenic symptoms and tolerability in latin schizophrenic patients. METHOD: Eighty schizophrenic patients were enrolled and 70 completed a prospective open-label 3-month study with amisulpride. The schizophrenic symptoms, psychosocial functioning and side-effects were evaluated with standardized scales. RESULTS: The patients showed significant improvement in the five dimensions evaluated. Amisulpride (median final dose 357.1 mg/d) was well-tolerated without treatment-emergent extrapyramidal side-effects. CONCLUSION: Amisulpride showed efficacy on different psychopathological dimensions and was well tolerated, leading to consider this drug a first line choice for the treatment of schizophrenia

Cognitive impairment and its improvement after six months in adolescents with schizophrenia

Studies evaluating the cognitive impairment in schizophrenic adolescents reported a variable course following antipsychotic treatment, with improvement being associated to patients' demographic or clinical characteristics. Objectives: To examine the cognitive impairments of a Mexican sample of adolescents with schizophrenia using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) before and after six months of antipsychotic treatment and to determine which demographic or clinical characteristics could be associated to cognitive improvement. Methods: A sample of 87 Mexican patients was evaluated with the MCCB. Domain scores for three age groups (12–13, 14–15 and 16–17 y.o.) were obtained at baseline, and after 3 and 6 months of treatment. The groups were compared for demographic and clinical variables (sex, school attendance, years of education, being on their first psychotic episode, duration of illness and mean dose of antipsychotic), and a logistic regression analysis was performed to determine which variables predicted larger improvement. Results: The baseline performance showed scores below the standardized mean, with improvement in all domains except for social cognition; female adolescents showed a larger improvement in attention/vigilance and visual learning domains. Conclusions: We observed cognitive impairments on schizophrenic adolescents, which improved after six months of treatment in almost all domains. Keywords: Cognitive dysfunction, Follow-up studies, Psychotic disorders, Attention, Latin American, MATRIC

Standardization and validity of Chefmania, a video game designed as a cognitive screening test for children

Abstract The potential of video games as diagnostic tools for cognitive deficits has been poorly studied. There is a lack of well-designed studies addressing the psychometric properties and standardization values of video games. Chefmania is a video game designed as a screening test in Spanish to determine cognitive alterations, as well as academic concepts such as number, space, time, and instructions follow-up in children above 6 years of age. The present study aimed to evaluate the validity of Chefmania as well as the normative values of a Mexican sample. The standardization included 266 children divided into three age groups: 6–7, 8–9, and 10–12 years olds; concurrent validity was determined by the correlation between Chefmania and other standardized cognitive batteries. Discriminant validity was determined by the comparison of Chefmania scores between school children and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Standardization showed an age effect, where older children performed better in Chefmania subtests. Chefmania showed significant and moderate correlations with other cognitive batteries. Children with ADHD showed poorer performance. Chefmania is a valid instrument for the assessment of cognition and is suitable for use in schools