Three Head-to-Head Studies Demonstrate That Zyprexa Delays Relapse in Patients with Schizophrenia Significantly Longer Than Othe
February 11 2004 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Three Head-to-Head Studies Demonstrate That Zyprexa Delays Relapse
in Patients with Schizophrenia Significantly Longer Than Other
Competitors in Its Class Additional Evidence that Efficacy of
Atypical Antipsychotics is Not Equal INDIANAPOLIS, Feb.
11/PRNewswire/ -- New data presented today at a major schizophrenia
conference in Switzerland demonstrate that Zyprexa(R) (olanzapine)
delays relapse significantly longer in patients with schizophrenia
than other atypical antipsychotics, Eli Lilly and Company
announced. The data resulted from three double-blind randomized
clinical trials comparing Zyprexa with Risperdal(R) (risperidone),
Seroquel(R) (quetiapine) and Geodon(R) (ziprasidone) for efficacy
in treating patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Relapse, a
reemergence of psychotic symptoms, can be devastating, leading to
functional, social and physiological decline over the lifetime of
the patient(1). A large review of the literature indicated that 42
percent of patients with schizophreniarelapsed over the course of a
year. For patients who discontinued antipsychotic therapy, relapse
was an almost certainty at one year(2). Additionally, some studies
have found that patients on continuous drug therapy have less
change in their brain structure than those patients not on
medication(3). "For patients with schizophrenia, there is a high
risk of relapse, but the frequency and severity of its effects can
be managed," said Jeffery Lieberman, M.D., Vice Chairman of
Psychiatry, Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, University of
North Carolina School of Medicine. "In order for physicians to help
patients attain stability and realize individual potential, an
effective treatment must delay the recurrence of relapse and
promote treatmentadherence. Based on these trials, olanzapine is
shown to be a promising choice to achieve both treatment goals."
Study Details Post-hoc analyses were conducted on three randomized,
double-blind studies comparing Zyprexa to risperidone for 28 weeks,
to ziprasidone for 28 weeks, and to quetiapine for 24 weeks. The
analyses looked at those patients who had improved by 20 percent or
30 percent in the total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale
(PANSS-total) score after 8 weeks. The PANSS is used in clinical
trials to rate symptoms in schizophrenia such as hallucinations,
delusions, disorganized thought and lack of motivation. Relapse was
then defined for those patients between 8 weeks and the end of the
study as a 20 percent or 30 percent worsening in PANSS- total
scores and a Clinical Global Impressions Severity of Illness (CGI
severity) score >= 3. Four levels of response/relapse
comparisons (20/20, 20/30, 30/20, 30/30) were made for each
treatment pair. Over the course of each trial, Zyprexa-treated
patients relapsed significantly less than patients treated with
risperidone, quetiapine and ziprasidone across all four levels of
response and relapse (p-values