High Dose Risperidone Consta for Patients With Schizophrenia With Poor Response to Risperidone
Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Schizophrenia focused on measuring schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, long acting injectable, treatment resistant
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder
- Able to give written informed consent.
- Moderate psychosis persists although compliant with medication
- Patients must have an inadequate response to two antipsychotic medications (can be risperidone, oral or long acting - but not required), at doses that are within the upper end of the standard dosage range
- Patients must have a Clinical Global Impression - Severity (CGI-S) scale score at screening of at least moderate severity and a PSP score of 60 or below.
- At the time of screening, eligible patients will be receiving or have received treatment with risperidone oral or Consta, or a combination that does not exceed 50 mg q 2 weeks of Consta or oral risperidone 8 mg/day for at least 6 weeks within seven years of study entry without satisfactory response as documented in the medical record Risperidone
- Patients who have received Consta injectable medication within the specified dose range for no more than a month prior to the onset of the study will be eligible. Patients receiving mood stabilizers or antidepressants, or both, in addition to risperidone oral or Consta, will be eligible
- Patients may initially be inpatients or outpatients
- Females of child bearing potential will be admitted only if they are on stable birth control medication and understand that they should not get pregnant during the course of the study.
- All patients must have stable housing at the current time or plans for housing following hospital discharge, if an inpatient.
- Patients must be willing to receive injectable medication
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients with a diagnosis other than schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.
- Patients previously treated with doses of these agents higher than those allowed for at least six months and who failed to have an adequate response will be excluded
- Patients currently taking clozapine or have failed an adequate trial of clozapine which lasted at least 3 months
- Pregnant females. Females who are currently breastfeeding will be excluded.
- Patients with a diagnosis of substance dependence at screening or up to one year prior to enrollment.
- Patient with worse than mild tardive dyskinesia or history of marked EPS at screening
- Patients who have had neuroleptic malignant syndrome
- Patients with a history of galactorrhea
- Patients with uncontrolled medical condition(s)
- Patients with a history of non-compliance to oral or injectable medication.
- Patients unwilling to have injectable medication
Sites / Locations
- Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Active Comparator
Active Comparator
Conventional dose
High Dose group
All of those who are randomized to the conventional Consta dose will receive it in the form of Consta at a starting dose of 50 mg q 2 weeks (given as two injections - active 50 mg plus placebo injection).As advised by the package insert for Consta, oral risperidone will be given (3-4 mg qd x 3 days followed by 6mg qd up to Week 3 unless symptoms warrant a quicker titration) along with the injections.Any oral risperidone the patients receive will be discontinued after Week 4.At Week 6, psychopathology will be assessed with a PANSS. Dose will remain at 50 mg q 2 weeks for those in the conventional Consta dose group.
Those who are randomized to high dose Consta will receive Consta 50 mg injection plus 25 mg injection (total dose 75 mg) q 2 weeks as the starting dose after consent. As advised by the package insert for Consta, oral risperidone will be given (3-4 mg qd x 3 days followed by 6mg qd up to Week 4 unless symptoms warrant a quicker titration) along with the injections. Any oral risperidone the patients receive will be discontinued after Week 4.Psychopathology will be assessed with a PANSS at Week 6. If no improvement since baseline, dose will be increased to two 50 mg injections q 2 weeks for the remainder of the study.