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| |  APA: Quetiapine (Seroquel) Has Important Advantages Over Commonly Prescribed Agents In Treating Schizophrenia NEW ORLEANS, LA -- May 8, 2001 -- New data from the first study to compare four leading antipsychotic treatments in the ‘real world’ of everyday clinical practice provides further confirmation that the atypical antipsychotic quetiapine (Seroquel), while equally effective in alleviating the symptoms of schizophrenia, has important tolerability advantages over other commonly prescribed agents. The results of the study were presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. The unique multi-centre study1 undertaken by a research network of 61 Spanish psychiatrists (the EIRE Collaborative Group), compared 636 patients treated with at least four weeks of quetiapine (mean: 360.5mg per day), olanzapine (mean: 13.5mg per day), risperidone (mean: 5.3mg per day), or haloperidol (mean: 10.6 mg per day). The effectiveness of treatment was assessed using the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale routinely used in psychiatry clinics. Results indicated that all four agents were equally effective in treating the symptoms of schizophrenia. But when the side effects experienced by patients taking the study medications were compared, important differences were seen. In terms of weight gain side effects, a phenomenon that is of great concern to clinicians because of the long-term risks associated with obesity, the study found that unlike the other agents in the study, quetiapine was not associated with significant weight gain. Assessed at endpoint over baseline, only 2 percent of patients on quetiapine experienced a shift from the ‘normal’ weight category into the ‘overweight’ category, with no patients shifting into the ‘obese’ category. By contrast, 7 percent of olanzapine patients moved into the ‘overweight’ category, and a further 9 percent shifted to the ‘obese’ category. The risperidone group experienced similar shifts, with 8 percent and 4 percent shifting to the ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ categories respectively, while the haloperidol patient group displayed a 7 percent shift into the ‘obese’ category. "These are important results," commented Professor Julio Bobes, lead investigator of the study and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oviedo Spain. "Weight gain is a serious side effect of antipsychotic treatment, and these results indicate treatment with quetiapine offers the lowest risk of excessive weight gain - a benefit we should seriously consider as clinicians." The EIRE study also confirms quetiapine’s unrivalled tolerability in relation to sexual dysfunction2, another disturbing side effect of many antipsychotic agents. Evaluating the same patient groups, the study concluded that sexual dysfunction is a frequent side effect of risperidone, olanzapine, and haloperidol, but not of quetiapine. Evaluating overall sexual dysfunction, only 18 percent of the quetiapine group reported any form of sexual dysfunction, compared with 43 percent, 35 percent and 38 percent of the risperidone, olanzapine and haloperidol groups respectively. "Sexual dysfunction is a frequently ignored side effect of treatment," continued Professor Bobes. "Some patients and clinicians might find it hard to discuss such personal issues in the clinical setting, but the fact is that we should take it very seriously as the impact this can have on our patients lives, relationships and self-esteem can be devastating. With quetiapine, this is then one less thing the clinician and patient need to worry about." The final aspect of tolerability the EIRE group evaluated was occurrence of extrapyramidal side effects (EPS)4. EPS describes a syndrome of involuntary muscle movements and feelings of restlessness which often become so intolerable to patients that they chose to discontinue treatment, putting themselves at increased risk of a relapse of their illness. Evaluating again the same patient groups, the results revealed that the quetiapine patient group experienced a much lower incidence of EPS than the other agents in the study. "I believe our study offers some extremely useful information for clinicians who are making often difficult prescribing decisions in the ‘real world’ of clinical psychiatry", concluded Prof Bobes. "What our study clearly shows is that there are real and important tolerability differences between the atypical antipsychotic agents. Quetiapine caused no serious weight gain, a very low level of sexual side effects, and we believe it is not associated with EPS. This tolerability profile has to make it a first line, first choice treatment for schizophrenia." References: SOURCE: American Psychiatric Association Related Link: quetiapine (Seroquel).
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