Journal of psychiatric research
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, study of the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole 10, 15 or 20 mg/day for the treatment of patients with acute exacerbations of schizophrenia.
This double-blind, multicenter study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole 10, 15 or 20 mg/day versus placebo. Patients requiring inpatient hospitalization for acute exacerbation of schizophrenia were randomized to once-daily aripiprazole 10, 15 or 20 mg/day or placebo for 6 weeks. The primary efficacy outcome was the mean change from baseline to Week 6 in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) Total score (last observation carried forward). ⋯ All three doses were well tolerated. Overall, aripiprazole was not associated with clinically meaningful differences in extrapyramidal symptoms, prolactin or weight changes versus placebo. Aripiprazole 10 mg/day is effective and well tolerated for patients experiencing an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia.
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Information on the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the main mammalian system of stress response, in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is inconsistent. In this study, nine inpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD without comorbid major depression (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale [Y-BOCS] score >15; HAMD-21 total score 16) and nine healthy matched controls were included. ⋯ Area under the curve plasma concentrations of both ACTH (p<0.05) and cortisol (p<0.005) were significantly greater in patients with OCD (ACTH: 674.3 +/- 57.4; cortisol: 2148.4 +/-271.7) than in controls (ACTH: 460.2 +/- 61.0; cortisol: 1191.2 +/- 124.1). In conclusion, our findings suggest that the activity of the HPA axis in patients with OCD is increased compared to healthy controls.