Effect of Aripiprazole on Verbal Memory and Fluency in Schizophrenic Patients: Results from the ESCAPE Study

• Published in: CNS drugs 2012-11, Vol.26 (11), p.975-982
• Main Authors: Bervoets, Chris, Morrens, Manuel, Vansteelandt, Kristof, Kok, Frank, de Patoul, Annick, Halkin, Veronique, Pitsi, Didier, Constant, Eric, Peuskens, Joseph, Sabbe, Bernard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Antipsychotic Agents - administration & dosage; Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use; Aripiprazole; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition & reasoning; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Memory - drug effects; Middle Aged; Neurology; Neuropharmacology; Neurosciences; Older people; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Pharmacotherapy; Piperazines - administration & dosage; Piperazines - therapeutic use; Prospective Studies; Psychiatry; Psycholeptics: tranquillizer, neuroleptic; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Psychoses; Psychotropic drugs; Quality of Life; Quinolones - administration & dosage; Quinolones - therapeutic use; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - drug therapy; Schizophrenic Psychology; Semantics; Short Communication; Treatment Outcome; Verbal Learning - drug effects; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1172-7047; 1179-1934
• DOI: 10.1007/s40263-012-0003-4

Background Second-generation antipsychotics have gradually replaced first-generation antipsychotics as first-line treatment for patients with schizophrenia. Some positive effects on verbal cognition have been shown for the second-generation antipsychotics, but most studies are based on relatively small numbers of patients. Objective In the frame of the prospective, multi-centre, open-label study ESCAPE (A Prospective, Multicenter, Open-Label Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness and the Effect on Cognitive Function of a Treatment With Aripiprazole in a Broad Range of Schizophrenic Patients; clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00329810) evaluating the effectiveness and effect on cognitive functioning of aripiprazole in schizophrenic patients, we conducted a post hoc analysis to examine changes in verbal cognition and investigate the predictive value of a cognitive improvement on quality of life. Study Design This was a prospective, multi-centre, non-comparative, open-label study of aripiprazole in schizophrenic patients. At study enrolment, these patients were being treated with various first- or second-generation antipsychotics or were without previous antipsychotic treatment. On entering the study, all patients were treated with aripiprazole (Abilify ® ; Otsuka, Tokyo, Japan) monotherapy; those patients who had received prior treatment with antipsychotics had their current drug(s) tapered off over a 2-week period. A post hoc analysis of the effect of aripiprazole on two verbal cognitive measures and their correlation with efficacy measures and quality of life was conducted. Setting Patients with schizophrenia were recruited in 56 psychiatric hospitals. Patients A total of 361 patients with schizophrenia, ranging from 18 to 65 years, entered the study. Intervention Patients were treated with aripiprazole monotherapy at a dosage of 10–30 mg/day. Those who were receiving first- or second-generation antipsychotics at enrolment were switched to aripiprazole monotherapy by tapering off their current drug(s) over a 2-week period. Main Outcome Measure Physician- and patient-rated parameters were measured to gain a complete view of the effectiveness of aripiprazole on the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) at baseline and at weeks 4, 8 and 12 and on the Clinical Global Impression—Severity of Illness (CGI-S) scale at baseline and at weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12. A secondary endpoint of verbal cognitive function was measured by the California V