Efficacy, safety and early response of paliperidone extended-release tablets (paliperidone ER): results of a 6-week, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Safety and tolerability of oral paliperidone extended-release tablets in elderly patients with schizophrenia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study with six-month open-label extension. Efficacy and safety of paliperidone extended-release tablets: results of a 6-week, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of paliperidone extended-release and quetiapine in inpatients with recently exacerbated schizophrenia. Comparison of olanzapine and risperidone in the treatment of psychosis and associated behavioral disturbances in patients with dementia. Efficacy and tolerability of ziprasidone versus risperidone in patients with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: an 8-week, double-blind, multicenter trial. Treatment of schizophrenia with paliperidone extended-release tablets: a 6-week placebo-controlled trial.
Paliperidone extended-release tablet (paliperidone ER) is an oral psychotropic agent developed for schizophrenia treatment. Paliperidone (9-OH-risperidone, metabolite of risperidone), when used with OROS technology has a unique pharmacokinetic profile undergoing limited hepatic metabolism.
                The efficacy and safety of once-daily paliperidone ER (3 mg, 9 mg and 15 mg) were compared with placebo in 618 patients with acute schizophrenia in a 6-week, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study. An assay sensitivity group with known efficacy was included to confirm trial validity (olanzapine 10 mg).
                All doses of paliperidone ER demonstrated significant improvements in PANSS total and PANSS factors scores (p<0.05) and in personal and social functioning (p<0.001) compared with placebo. Symptom improvement has been observed at the first observation assessment (Day 4) (p<0.001) compared with placebo, suggesting a rapid onset of action for paliperidone ER. Paliperidone ER was associated with a low incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events. The incidence of movement disorder-related adverse events and rating scale scores were similar in the paliperidone ER 3 mg and placebo groups and increased with dose. Increases in prolactin plasma levels and dose-related increases in body weight (<2 kg) were observed; there were no significant changes in serum lipid or glucose levels.
                In this study, all doses of paliperidone ER were effective in significantly improving the symptoms of schizophrenia and personal and social functioning and were generally well tolerated. As such, paliperidone ER may provide a valuable new treatment option for patients with schizophrenia. The objective of this multicenter, international study was to evaluate safety and tolerability of paliperidone extended-release (ER) tablets in elderly (age > or =65 years) patients with schizophrenia. The authors conducted a 6-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, optional 24-week open-label extension study. Interventions consisted of flexible, once-daily doses of paliperidone ER (3-12 mg/day; 6-mg starting dose, adjusted in 3-mg dose increments) or placebo (2:1) during double-blind treatment and paliperidone ER only during open-label treatment. Measurements included adverse events, laboratory tests, physical examinations, 12-lead electrocardiograms, movement disorder rating scales, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and Clinical Global Impression scale. The study was not powered to show statistical differences.
                Patients (N = 114) were predominantly female (73%); mean age was 70 years (double-blind phase). Concomitant disease presence was consistent with that of an older population. During the double-blind phase, discontinuation rates resulting from adverse events were similar between groups (paliperidone ER: 7%, placebo: 8%) as were incidences of treatment-emergent adverse events (paliperidone ER: 67%, placebo: 71%). Serious adverse events occurred in 3% of the paliperidone ER- and 8% of the placebo-treated patients. Elevated prolactin levels occurred in approximately one half of patients. No prolactin- or glucose treatment-related adverse events or noteworthy mean changes in body weight (0 kg [standard deviation: 2.1] and 0 kg [standard deviation: 2.3] for paliperidone ER and placebo, respectively) were observed. Safety and tolerability results in the extension were consistent with the shorter-term results. Efficacy measures did not show consistent statistical improvement between treatment groups.
                Paliperidone ER (3-12 mg/day) treatment over a 30-week period was generally well-tolerated and may improve symptom severity in elderly patients with schizophrenia. Paliperidone extended-release tablet (paliperidone ER; Invega, Janssen L.P., Titusville, New Jersey) is an oral psychotropic for schizophrenia treatment.
                Efficacy and safety of once-daily paliperidone ER (6 and 12 mg) were assessed versus placebo in 444 patients with acute schizophrenia in a 6-week, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study. An olanzapine (10 mg) treatment arm was included to confirm trial validity.
                Both doses of paliperidone ER demonstrated significant improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score (p < or = .006) and certain PANSS Marder factor scores compared with placebo (p < or = .025); PANSS total score also improved in the olanzapine treatment arm. Paliperidone ER 6 mg (p < or = .008), but not 12 mg, was associated with significant improvements in personal and social performance. The incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) for paliperidone ER 6 mg was comparable with placebo and slightly greater with paliperidone ER 12 mg. Changes in blood glucose and lipid levels with paliperidone ER were comparable with placebo. Two patients treated with paliperidone ER experienced glucose-related AEs. Body-weight increases of 1-2 kg were observed with paliperidone ER. Although there were increases in plasma prolactin levels with paliperidone ER treatment, the incidence of prolactin-related AEs was < or =1%.
                In this study, paliperidone ER, particularly the 6-mg dose, was effective and well tolerated, and provides a valuable new treatment option for schizophrenia. The authors compared paliperidone extended-release and quetiapine in patients with recently exacerbated schizophrenia requiring hospitalization.
                In a 6-week double-blind study, inpatients with a recent exacerbation of schizophrenia were randomly assigned to treatment with paliperidone extended-release, quetiapine, or placebo. A 2-week monotherapy phase was followed by a 4-week additive-therapy phase. Target doses were at the upper end of recommended ranges: paliperidone extended-release, 9 or 12 mg/day, and quetiapine, 600 or 800 mg/day. The primary endpoint was the difference in mean total change score on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) between paliperidone extended-release and quetiapine at the 2-week monotherapy phase endpoint.
                Six-week completion rates were 77.5% (124/160) with paliperidone extended-release, 66.7% (106/159) quetiapine, and 63.8% (51/80) placebo. Improvement in mean PANSS total change score was greater with paliperidone extended-release than with quetiapine from day 5 (-11.4 versus -8.2) through the monotherapy phase endpoint (-23.4 versus -17.1). Only paliperidone extended-release showed significantly greater PANSS improvement compared with placebo at 2 weeks. At the 6-week study endpoint, there was a significantly greater improvement with paliperidone extended-release compared with quetiapine despite similar use of additive therapy (predominantly other antipsychotics). Common adverse events with paliperidone extended-release, quetiapine, and placebo, respectively, were tremor (13.9%, 5.0%, 7.5%), somnolence (8.9%, 11.9%, 1.3%), insomnia (10.1%, 9.4%, 11.3%), and headache (12.0%, 7.5%, 13.8%). Six-week adverse event-related discontinuation rates were 6.3%, 10.1%, and 6.3%, respectively, in the paliperidone extended-release, quetiapine, and placebo groups.
                Compared with quetiapine, paliperidone extended-release improved symptoms earlier and to a greater degree in patients with recently exacerbated schizophrenia requiring hospitalization, with no unexpected tolerability findings. The authors compared efficacy of olanzapine versus placebo and risperidone as measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory and Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Psychosis scale in patients with dementia-related psychosis.
                Patients with moderate-to-severe psychotic symptoms associated with dementia were recruited from outpatient or residential settings and randomly assigned to 10-week, double-blind, flexible-dose treatment with olanzapine (N=204; 2.5 mg-10 mg/day; mean: 5.2 mg/day), risperidone (N=196; 0.5 mg-2 mg/day; mean: 1.0 mg/day) or placebo (N=94).
                Most measures of neuropsychiatric functioning improved in all treatment groups, including the placebo group, and no significant treatment differences occurred. Overall discontinuation was lowest in the placebo group, and the olanzapine group had a significantly higher incidence of discontinuation due to adverse events (16.2%) relative to placebo (3.2%) and risperidone (8.7%) groups. Treatment-emergent extrapyramidal symptoms were more numerous for risperidone- than placebo- or olanzapine-treated patients. Abnormally high prolactin levels occurred in 78.0% of risperidone patients, compared with 16.7% for olanzapine and 5.0% for placebo. The incidence of weight gain greater than 7% from baseline was higher in the olanzapine group relative to risperidone, but neither active-treatment group showed a statistical difference from placebo (1.1%). No other statistically significant and clinically relevant differences were seen for any other vital sign, electrocardiographic measure, or laboratory hematology and chemistry, including glucose, except for cholesterol, which decreased from baseline to endpoint in both active-treatment groups.
                Patients' neuropsychiatric functioning improved with olanzapine, risperidone, and placebo treatment. There was a substantial response in the placebo group, and no significant differences emerged among treatments. More head-to-head comparisons of antipsychotics are needed to discern the relative efficacy and safety profiles of these compounds. Thus, we compared ziprasidone and risperidone in patients with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.
                Patients with DSM-III-R acute exacerbation of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were randomly assigned to double-blind ziprasidone 40 to 80 mg b.i.d. (N = 149) or risperidone 3 to 5 mg b.i.d (N = 147) for 8 weeks. Primary efficacy measures included Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness scale (CGI-S) score; secondary measures included scores on the PANSS negative sub-scale, CGI-Improvement scale (CGI-I), and PANSS-derived Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRSd) total and core items. Safety assessments included movement disorder evaluations, laboratory tests, electrocardiography, vital signs, and body weight. Efficacy analyses employed a prospectively defined Evaluable Patients cohort. Treatment equivalence was conferred if the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval of the ziprasidone/risperidone ratio of least-squares mean change from baseline was > 0.60. Data were gathered from August 1995 to January 1997.
                Equivalence was demonstrated in PANSS total scores, CGI-S scores, PANSS negative subscale scores, BPRSd total and core item scores, and PANSS total and CGI-I responder rates. Both agents were well tolerated. Risperidone exhibited a significantly higher Movement Disorder Burden (MDB) score (p < .05) and higher incidences of prolactin elevation and clinically relevant weight gain. However, compared with current recommendations, study dosing may have been high for some risperidone-treated patients (mean dose = 7.4 mg/day) and low for some ziprasidone-treated patients (mean dose = 114.2 mg/day).
                Both agents equally improved psychotic symptoms, and both were generally well tolerated, with ziprasidone demonstrating a lower MDB score and less effect on prolactin and weight than risperidone. Paliperidone extended-release tablet (paliperidone ER) is an investigational oral psychotropic developed for schizophrenia treatment. It utilizes OROS technology to provide a unique pharmacokinetic profile, eliminating the need for titration and potentially leading to improved tolerability. Furthermore, paliperidone undergoes limited hepatic metabolism.
                The efficacy and safety of once-daily paliperidone ER (6 mg, 9 mg and 12 mg) were assessed versus placebo in 628 patients with acute schizophrenia in a 6-week, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study.
                All doses of paliperidone ER demonstrated significant improvement in PANSS score, all PANSS Marder factor scores (p<0.001) and personal and social functioning versus placebo (p<0.001). The PANSS total score also improved significantly in the olanzapine treatment arm. Significantly higher percentages of paliperidone ER patients demonstrated a > or =30% reduction in PANSS total score versus placebo (p<0.001). The incidence of movement disorder-related AEs and rating scales measurements were similar to placebo for the paliperidone ER 6 mg group and higher in the 9 mg and 12 mg groups. In the paliperidone ER groups there were no reports of glucose-related AEs or clinically relevant changes in plasma lipid levels and changes in mean bodyweight<1 kg.
                In this study, all doses of paliperidone ER were effective in significantly improving the symptoms of schizophrenia and personal and social functioning and were generally well tolerated. Paliperidone ER offers a distinctive treatment profile and may provide a valuable new treatment option for patients with schizophrenia.
In short-term studies, oral paliperidone is an antipsychotic drug that is more efficacious than placebo. We found its adverse effects to be similar to those of its parent compound, risperidone, with movement disorders, weight gain and tachycardia all more common with paliperidone than placebo. While no difference was found in the incidence of reported adverse sexual outcomes, paliperidone is associated with substantial increases in serum prolactin. When used at doses of 6 mg per day or higher, oral paliperidone appears comparable in efficacy to olanzapine 10 mg/day. A single study of six days duration found neither an advantage nor disadvantage of paliperidone compared to risperidone. When dosed flexibly with other psychotropics available, it appears to be comparable in efficacy to flexible doses of quetiapine with other psychotropics available.