Comparison of Aripiprazole and Risperidone for the Treatment of People With First-Episode Psychosis

Schizophrenia is a severely disabling brain disorder. People with schizophrenia often experience hallucinations, delusions, thought disorders, and movement disorders. Medications are available to alleviate the symptoms of schizophrenia, but many cause undesirable side effects. For example, two early second generation antipsychotics, olanzapine and risperidone, have been shown to be effective in treating schizophrenia symptoms, but cause rapid, substantial weight gain. There is a lower risk of such side effects with newer second generation antipsychotics, such as aripiprazole. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of these newer medications in treating people with first-episode schizophrenia. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of aripiprazole versus risperidone for the treatment of first-episode schizophrenia. Participants in this double-blind study will be randomly assigned to receive either aripiprazole or risperidone for 12 weeks. Subjects who do not meet response criteria will be continued on their initial blinded antipsychotic for an additional 4 weeks for a total length of 16 weeks of treatment. Subjects who meet response criteria by week 16 will continue on their successful blinded medication for their remaining time in study. Patients who do not respond will be treated with the other medication (aripiprazole or risperidone) that they did not receive during the first 16 weeks of the study. The second antipsychotic trial will last 16 weeks. Patients who respond during the switch phase will be continued on their successful medication during their remaining time in the study. Patients who do not respond to the second medication trial will then be treated with open-label clozapine for 20 weeks. Safety monitoring for clozapine-treated subjects will follow the established procedures for multi-episode patients (e.g . weekly complete blood count (CBC) monitoring). The total length of patient participation is 52 weeks. During the longitudinal follow-up phase, subjects may be prescribed open-label sodium valproate for manic symptoms and open-label sertraline for symptoms of depression or anxiety empirically responsive to (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor)SSRI treatment. Additionally, all participants will take part in a Healthy Lifestyles program aimed at preventing weight gain. The Healthy Lifestyles program will provide psycho-education, supportive psychotherapy, and medication adherence counseling. At each visit, treatment and metabolic outcomes will be assessed. Participants will meet with both a psychiatrist, who will evaluate progress and medication dosage, and a social worker, who will administer the Healthy Lifestyles Program. Upon completion of the study, participants will receive follow-up care from clinical staff members who were not part of the research team. For information on a related study, please follow this link: http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00000374