Five updates in schizophrenia research

The goals of schizophrenia treatment are manifold and include improving the patient’s ability to function, preventing treatment failure and reducing negative symptoms.

Another priority of schizophrenia research is to decrease the incidence of criminality, violence, and recidivism. The challenges of treatment adherence in this population have also driven efforts to develop simpler and/or longer-acting dosing regimens of antipsychotic drugs. The following are five recent updates in schizophrenia research:

1. Randomized trial indicates Invega Sustenna superior to oral antipsychotics in delaying schizophrenia treatment failure

Once-monthly Invega Sustenna may be more effective than oral antipsychotics in postponing treatment failure in adult patients with schizophrenia.

In this randomized, multicenter study of 450 patients with schizophrenia and a history in the criminal justice system, a once-monthly treatment with Invega Sustenna (paliperidone palmitate, Janssen) increased treatment adherence and delayed treatment failure vs. oral antipsychotics. Read more

2. Visual hallucinations in children with schizophrenia may be due to delayed brain development

In children with schizophrenia, visual hallucinations may be associated with delayed development of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus.

In this study, researchers mapped large-scale corticocortical connectivity in patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia and their unaffected siblings, and found that these children had left-hemisphere occipitotemporal deficits in cortical thickness correlations vs. healthy controls. Read more

3. Long-acting injectable antipsychotics lead to better outcomes than oral antipsychotics

In patients with recent-onset schizophrenia, long-acting injectable risperidone appears to yield better treatment compliance, better relapse prevention and better psychotic symptom control vs. oral antipsychotics.

In a study of 86 patients with recent-onset schizophrenia, researchers found that long-acting injectable risperidone led to lower rates of psychotic exacerbation and/or relapse vs. oral antipsychotics. Patients treated with oral medications were also more likely to cease treatment due to inadequate clinical response. Read more

4. Cariprazine safely, effectively treats negative schizophrenia symptoms

Cariprazine may be effective in treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

In a phase 3 clinical trial presented at the European Neuropsychopharmacology Congress annual meeting, researchers found that the dopamine D3/D2 receptor partial agonist cariprazine may have efficacy in reducing negative symptoms of schizophrenia, such as withdrawal, lack of emotion and apathy. Read more

5. Progressive brain tissue loss linked to early cognitive decline among patients with schizophrenia

Progressive loss of brain tissue is associated with early cognitive decline in patients with schizophrenia.

In a case-control longitudinal study, researchers found that changes in IQ over 3 years in young patients with schizophrenia was linked to a loss of cortical volume and thinning. These findings were independent of severity of symptoms at follow-up, baseline cannabis use and use of cumulative antipsychotics throughout the study interval. Read more