- Explain to interested patients that the new therapy may be as effective as currently available treatments for schizophrenia without any of the side effects typically associated with these drugs including weight gain and involuntary movements.
- Explain to interested patients that this drug is not yet available and further studies are needed to confirm the new findings.
- Explain to interested patients that olanzapine(Drug information on olanzapine) is an approved drug for the treatment of schizophrenia.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Sept. 7 -- The investigational schizophrenia drug LY2140023 may effectively reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia without causing any of the side effects seen with older therapies.
A phase II proof-of-concept study showed that patients who took LY2140023 or olanzapine (Zyprexa) showed greater improvements on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), compared with their counterparts who received placebo, according to results reported online in Nature Medicine.
Moreover, the experimental drug did not appear to cause the adverse effects associated with approved schizophrenia drugs including prolactin elevation, extrapyramidal symptoms, and weight gain, said the researchers, led by Sandeep T. Patil, of Eli Lilly and Company, manufacturer of the drug.
During the four-week trial, 200 patients in Russian mental institutions were randomized to receive LY2140023 (40 mg given twice a day), olanzapine (15 mg daily), or placebo. Patients in both the active treatment arms responded within one week (P<0.05) and improvements lasted throughout the study, the researchers said.
Patients in the active treatment arms also showed improvements in PANNS total score, compared with placebo (P<0.001 at week 4).
After four weeks of treatment, the study showed that 32% of patients in the LY2140023 group and 41.2% of patients in olanzapine group responded to therapy, compared with 3.2% of those patients in the placebo arm (P<0.001 for both). A patient showing a 25% or more decrease in PANSS total score was defined as a responder.
Patients in the active arms of the study also showed improvements in the Clinical Global Impression-Severity scores and PANNS positive and negative subscores, compared with those patients randomized to receive placebo.
