Aripiprazole for schizophrenia. Systematic review.

BACKGROUND Aripiprazole is an atypical antipsychotic that is reported to be effective in the treatment of schizophrenia. AIMS To investigate the effects of aripiprazole on patients with schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like psychoses by conducting a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). METHOD Database and manual searches and direct contact were used to identify relevant RCTs. RESULTS We included 10 randomised controlled studies (involving a total of 4125 patients), but study attrition was large and the standard of data reporting was poor. Compared with placebo, aripiprazole treatment was associated with a significant decrease in relapse rates, increased compliance with the study protocol, and a decrease in prolactin levels below the expected values. Compared with risperidone, aripiprazole caused less elevation of prolactin levels and less prolongation of the average QTc interval. CONCLUSIONS Aripiprazole has been licensed despite the fact that few reliable data on this drug are publicly available. It may be effective for treatment of schizophrenia, but in terms of tolerability and global outcomes it shows little difference from existing antipsychotics.