- Explain to patients that bifeprunox is an investigational agent for the treatment of schizophrenia and has not been approved by the FDA.
- This study was published as an abstract and presented as a poster. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed publication
SAN DIEGO, May 23 -- Bifeprunox, an investigational atypical antipsychotic agent, was significantly better than placebo at preventing deterioration of schizophrenia over six months, according to investigators.
And unlike other atypical agents, bifeprunox does not appear to be associated with adverse metabolic effects: Patients on the drug lost weight and had decreases in body mass index over the course of the study, reported Daniel Casey, M.D., from Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland, at the American Psychiatric Association meeting here.
The drug was also associated with a favorable lipid profile, including no increase in LDL, and a small rise in HDL, Dr. Casey and colleagues said.
"The increases in the good cholesterol were modest, but in the right direction, whereas we've seen decreases in good cholesterol with some other atypical antipsychotics. Those decreases were modest, but qualitatively, they're going in the wrong direction," said Dr. Casey.
