The Journal of clinical psychiatry
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Recent, large, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) showed no benefit of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics over oral antipsychotics in preventing relapse in schizophrenia, nor did a recent meta-analysis incorporating these studies. However, RCTs might enroll a disproportionate number of patients with better treatment adherence and lower illness severity. Mirror-image studies, which compare periods of oral antipsychotic versus LAI treatment in the same patients, might therefore better reflect the real-world impact of LAIs. ⋯ Results from mirror-image studies in patients eligible for clinical use of LAIs showed strong superiority of LAIs compared to oral antipsychotics in preventing hospitalization. The results were in contrast to the recent meta-analysis of RCTs, which showed no superiority of LAIs. Given the possible biases in mirror-image studies, such as expectation bias, natural illness course, and time effect, a cautious interpretation is required. Nevertheless, the population in mirror-image studies better reflects the population receiving LAIs in clinical practice.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Antidepressant augmentation using the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist memantine: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Intravenous N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists have shown promising results in rapidly ameliorating depression symptoms, but placebo-controlled trials of oral NMDA antagonists as monotherapy have not observed efficacy. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the NMDA antagonist memantine as an augmentation treatment for patients with DSM-IV major depressive disorder. ⋯ This trial did not detect significant statistical or effect size differences between memantine and placebo augmentation among nonresponders or poor responders to conventional antidepressants. While the small number of participants is a limitation, this study suggests memantine lacks substantial efficacy as an augmentation treatment for major depressive disorder.