Hostname: page-component-6dbcb7884d-xl9kw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-13T20:01:21.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Amisulpride versus placebo in the medium-term treatment of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

H. Loo ,
M.-F. Poirier-Littre ,
M. Theron ,
W. Rein  and
O. Fleurot
H. Loo*
Affiliation:
SHU Hôpital Sainte-Anne, Paris
M.-F. Poirier-Littre
Affiliation:
SHU Hôpital Sainte-Anne, Paris
M. Theron
Affiliation:
Synthélabo Recherche, Bagneux Cedex, France
W. Rein
Affiliation:
Synthélabo Recherche, Bagneux Cedex, France
O. Fleurot
Affiliation:
Synthélabo Recherche, Bagneux Cedex, France
*
Professor Henri Loo, Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, I. rue Cabanis, 75674 Paris Cedex 14, France
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Amisulpride is a substituted benzamide with high selectivity for dopamine D2 and D3 receptors. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of 100 mg amisulpride in patients with predominantly negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Method

This was a multi-centre, randomised, parallel-group, double-blind study. Patients received either amisulpride (100 mg/day) or placebo over a six-month treatment period.

Results

A total of 141 patients were included, 69 received amisulpride, 72 placebo. Fifty-eight patients (41%) had received neuroleptic treatment prior to inclusion. The percentage of amisulpride patients completing the study (55%) was significantly higher than that with placebo (32%), and drop-out rates due to lack of efficacy were 27% with amisulpride and 47% with placebo. All efficacy assessments were statistically in favour of amisulpride compared with placebo. The overall incidence of extrapyramidal symptoms was comparable in both groups; only five patients started anti-Parkinsonian treatment during the study (one in the placebo and four in the amisulpride group).

Conclusion

Amisulpride is effective in the medium-term treatment schizophrenic patients with predominantly negative symptoms.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 170 , Issue 1 , January 1997 , pp. 18 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychistric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn, revised) (DSM-III-D). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Andreasen, N. C. (1984a) The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). Iowa City, IA; University of lowa.Google Scholar
Andreasen, N. C. (1984b) The Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS). Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa.Google Scholar
Barnes, T. R. E. (1989) A rating scale for drug-induced akathisia. British Journal of Psychiatry 154, 672–676.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyer, P. Lecrubier, Y. & Puech, A. J. (1990) Treatment of positive and negative symptoms: pharmacologic approaches. In Schizophrenia: Positive and Negative Symptoms and Syndromes (ed. Andreasen, N. C.), vol. 24. pp. 152–174. Basel, Switzerland: Karger.Google Scholar
Boyer, P. Lecrubier, Y. & Puech, A. J., et al (1995) Treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia with amisulpride. British Journal of Psychiatry 166, 68–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carpenter, W. T., Heinrichs, D. W. & Wagman, A. M. I. (1988) Deficit and nondeficit forms of schizophrenia: the concept. American Journal of Psychiatry 145, 578–583.Google ScholarPubMed
Carpenter, W. T., Heinrichs, D. W., Wagman, A. M. I., Conley, R. R., Buchanan, R. W., et al (1995) Patient response and resource management: another view of clozapine treatment of schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 152, 827–832.Google ScholarPubMed
Hillart, A., Phillip, M., Gattaz, W. F., et al (1994) Amisulpride versus flupentixol in the treatment of schizophrenia with predominant positive symptomatology: a controlled doubleblind study Neuropsychopharmacology 10 315.Google Scholar
Kahn, R. S. & Davis, K. L. (1995) New developments in dopamine and schizophrenia. In Psychopharmacology: The Fourth Generation of Progress (eds Bloom, F. E. & Kupfer, D. J.) pp. 1193–1203. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Meitzer, H. Y. (1995) Clozapine: is another view valid? American Journal of Psychiatry 152, 821–825.Google Scholar
Möllar, H. J., Boyar, P., Turjanki, S., et al (1996) Amisulpride in the treatment of subchronic or chronic schizophrenia with acute exacerbation: a double-blind comparison with haloperidol. European Psychiatry II (suppl. 4), 4185.Google Scholar
National Institute of Mental Health (1976a) CGI: Clinical Global Impressions. In ECDEU Assessment. Manual for Psychopharnnacology (revised edn) (ed. Guy, W.), pp. 217–222. Rockville, MD: NIMH.Google Scholar
National Institute of Mental Health (1976) AIMS: Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale. In ECDEU Assessment. Manual for Psychopharmacology (revised edn) (ed. Guy, W.), pp 534–537. Rockville. MD: NIMH.Google Scholar
Pailliére-Martinot, M.-L., Lacrubier, Y., Martinot, J.-L., et al (1995) Improvement of some schizophrenia deficit symptoms with low doses of amisulpride. American Journal of Psychiatry 152, 130–133.Google Scholar
Puech, A. J., Fleurot, O. Rain, W., at al (1996) Amisulpnde in the treatment of acute exacerbations of subchronic or chronic schizophrenia: a dose-range finding study European Psychiatry II (suppl. 4), 280S.Google Scholar
Scatton, B., Perrault, G., Gonon, F., at al (1995) Novel neuroleptics acting on presynaptic dopaminergic receptors. European Neuropsychopharntacology 5. S/9–1.Google Scholar
Webster, D. D. (1968) Clinical analysis of the disability in Parkinsons disease. Moden Treatment, 5, 256–282.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.