• Eduard Parellada.
• Clinic Schizophrenia Program, Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Spain. eparella@clinic.ub.es
• Curr Med Res Opin. 2006 Feb 1; 22 (2): 241-55.

BackgroundRisperidone is the first atypical anti-psychotic available in a long-acting injectable formulation.ObjectiveTo provide an overview of the initial clinical experience gained with long-acting risperidone during clinical trials and in general treatment, including specific case studies, as well as providing practical advice on how to initiate treatment with this new drug.MethodsStudies published between January 2002 and June 2005 that evaluated the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of long-acting risperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia were reviewed, as identified from literature searches using Medline and EMBASE. Although not peer-reviewed, abstracts and posters on long-acting risperidone presented at key psychiatry and schizophrenia congresses during this period were also reviewed where available in the public domain.ResultsClinical studies have consistently demonstrated that long-acting risperidone, available in dosage strengths of 25, 37.5 or 50 mg, given once every 2 weeks, is both effective and well tolerated in patients with schizophrenia. Furthermore, significant and sustained clinical improvement has been reported in patients switched to long-acting risperidone from other oral and long-acting antipsychotic agents. Several patients groups, including the young, the elderly and patients with schizoaffective disorder, have also been shown to derive significant benefit from long-acting risperidone.ConclusionA wide variety of patient groups may benefit from treatment with long-acting risperidone, including patients with suboptimal efficacy, particularly as a result of partial compliance, patients experiencing side-effects with another antipsychotic agent or those with a first episode of schizophrenia. Furthermore, long-acting risperidone, with its assured medication delivery, should improve patient compliance and assist patients in achieving remission, an important step towards functional recovery.

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