engleski

Long term treatment of schizophrenic patients with olanzapine : A naturalistic study

Olanzapine is a novel antipsychotic drug of the thienobenzodiazepine class. It is a potent antagonist of serotonergic 5-HT2A and dopaminergic D2 receptors with higher affinity for 5-HT2A than for D2 receptors. Aim. To determine the clinical response and safety of long term administration of olanzapine in schizophrenic patients. The study included 48 (30 male and 18 female) schizophrenic patients (mean age 33.9 ± 10 years, range 20-63 years). Patients were treated with olanzapine (mean dose 10.7 ± 5.0 mg/day, range 5-20mg/day) in a long term (23.0 ± 12.7 months, range 6-43 months) open study. Clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia was made according to the DSM-IV criteria. The efficacy measures included the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale. Standard laboratory tests for the determination of glucose levels, enzymes AST and ALT activity, number of white blood cells and QTc intervals in EKG were used. After long term (at least 6 months) treatment of schizophrenic patients with olanzapine a significant (p<0.001) improvement in all efficacy measures was observed. The mean weight gain was 8.1 kg ± 5.8 (range 1-26 kg). Side effects reported were somnolence (n=1), tremor (n=1) and fatigue (n=1). There was no significant difference from baseline in biochemical parameters (glucose, AST, ALT, white blood cells) and QTc intervals. Conclusions. Our results indicate that in our naturalistic study long term administration of olanzapine induced good therapeutic response with minor side effects, without significant alterations in biochemical parameters and EKG in schizophrenic patients.

olanzapine; schizophrenia; naturalistic study; positive and Negative Syndrome Scale; Clinical Global Impression scale

DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-8206.2004.00260.x