Research

About the Study

Preventing Morbidity in First Episode Schizophrenia

Studies with populations of individuals experiencing a first episode of schizophrenia offer the unique opportunity to examine the effectiveness and side effects of medications without the confounding effects of prior medication use. In addition, the significance of such studies is based on the assumption that successful treatment of the initial psychotic episode is crucial for minimizing the cascading effects of social and vocational deterioration. Effective antipsychotic medications such as olanzapine and risperidone have been shown to cause side effects that have important implications for quality of life and can have long-term health consequences. Newer second generation antipsychotics with lower risks of weight gain and other metabolic side effects are now available, but most data on their efficacy are based upon studies with patients who have a more chronic course of schizophrenia. Little is known about their efficacy for first episode patients, or their efficacy in comparison to risperidone or olanzapine. A crucial question is how much, if any, tradeoff in effectiveness would result if a low weight-gain second generation antipsychotic were used in place of a more widely used second generation antipsychotic.

This study is an acute 12-week random-assignment, double-blind trial comparing risperidone with aripiprazole as first treatment for patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, followed by longitudinal follow-up for a total of 52 weeks. In addition to the multi-dimensional assessment of treatment outcomes, the study will feature a comprehensive assessment of side effects with a focus upon metabolic and other side effects with important health consequences. The study will also utilize genetic association strategies to identify the DNA sequences that significantly alter clinical phenotype and predict treatment response.

Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to Drs. John Kane and Delbert Robinson, this research study is based at Zucker Hillside Hospital in New York. At the Calgary site the Primary Investigator is Dr. Jean Addington, and co-investigators are Drs. Thomas Raedler, Beverly Adams, and Kathleen Pierson.