Schizophrenia Daily News Blog

Risperidone Liquid for Acute Phase

Risperidone liquid was shown to be both safe and effective for treating patients with schizophrenia during an acute phase. 88 patients were administered Risperidone liquid, 14 of which also took Lorazepem. They were evaluated by looking at their clinical improvements as well as their side effects.

"Plasma concentrations of HVA and MHPG "were analyzed by HPLC-ECD before and 4 weeks after risperidone liquid administration," the scientists wrote in the Human Psychopharmacology - Clinical and Experimental. 'Patients showing a 50% or greater improvement in PANSS scores were defined as responders. An improvement in the PANSS scores related to excitement, hostility and poor impulse control was seen within 7 days after administration of risperidone liquid, and an improvement with regard to hallucinatory behavior and uncooperativeness was seen within 14 days after its administration,' study data indicated. 'Finally, 68% of patients were classified as responders 4 weeks after risperidone liquid administration'" (Mental Health Law Weekly via LawRx.com).

The findings show that risperidone liquid is effective at treating acute phase schizophrenia and also that this efficacy is related to the affects it has on "dopaminergic activity, not noradrenergic activity". This study was done in Japan as an "open label study" to see how sufficient risperidone liquid was in eliminating the positive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Yoshimura and colleagues published their study in Human Psychopharmacology - Clinical and Experimental (An open study of risperidone liquid in the acute phase of schizophrenia. Hum Psychopharmacol, 2005;20(4):243-248).

The source of this article is Mental Health Law Weekly via LawRx.com.