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A new study, presented for the first time today at an international psychiatric meeting, examined the time to relapse in patients with schizophrenia treated with risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) or oral quetiapine.
The data show that the mean time free from relapse for patients treated with RLAI was statistically longer than those treated with quetiapine (607 days RLAI, versus 533 days with quetiapine).
For patients living with schizophrenia, relapse is associated with an increased risk of hospitalisation and a major negative impact on their quality of life.
Non-compliance or partial compliance remain key barriers in the management of schizophrenia and are often significant contributing factors in relapse.
Patients experiencing numerous relapses are at high risk of never regaining previous levels of functioning, therefore, preventing relapse is paramount in order to improve the long-term outcome for people living with the condition.
This 24-month, open-label, active-controlled, comparative study, randomised 710 patients to receive RLAI and oral quetiapine.
Safety results demonstrated that RLAI had a good safety and tolerability profile, with both treatments being comparable.
