Does cognitive function improve with quetiapine in comparison to haloperidol?

• Published in: Schizophrenia research 2002-01, Vol.53 (3), p.239-248
• Main Authors: Velligan, Dawn.I., Newcomer, John, Pultz, Joseph, Csernansky, John, Hoff, Anne L., Mahurin, Roderick, Miller, Alexander.L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Cognitive function; Dibenzothiazepines - therapeutic use; Female; Haloperidol; Haloperidol - therapeutic use; Humans; Long-term treatment; Male; Neuropsychological Tests; Quetiapine; Quetiapine Fumarate; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - complications; Schizophrenia - drug therapy; Severity of Illness Index
• ISSN: 0920-9964; 1573-2509
• DOI: 10.1016/S0920-9964(01)00268-7

Recent evidence suggests that schizophrenia patients taking atypical antipsychotic medications may perform better on some tests of cognitive function than those treated with older antipsychotics. The current study compared the effects of quetiapine and haloperidol on measures of executive function, memory and attention. Subjects were 58 stable outpatients with schizophrenia (DSM III-R) who received a battery of cognitive tests as part of a randomized, double-blind, multi-site clinical efficacy study conducted by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. Cognitive assessments were conducted prior to randomization when patients were receiving ≤30 mg haloperidol or equivalent (mean: 9.2 mg/day haloperidol equivalents), and again after 24 weeks of fixed-dose treatment with either quetiapine 600 or 300 mg/day or haloperidol 12 mg/day. Analyses of covariance with planned comparisons were used to compare scores on cognitive measures at the end of 24 weeks by treatment group with baseline cognitive function scores used as covariates. Patients receiving quetiapine 600 mg/day improved to a greater extent than patients receiving haloperidol on overall cognitive function ( p