Functional Brain Imaging and Employment in First-Episode Psychotic Patients Treated With Risperdal

Assured treatment with Risperal CONSTA will provide first-episode patients, who have a greater potential for therapeutic response, with their best opportunity for continued improvement in cognitive function beyond three months of treatment.

First episode patients have a greater potential for therapeutic response than multi-episode patients, and many of them also havea great desire to rejoin the workforce. Unfortunately, first episode patients become non-compliant or intermittently compliant with prescribed antipsychotic treatment at least as frequently as multi-episode patients. We believe that assured treatment with Risperal CONTSTA will provide first episode patients wiwth their best opporutnity for continued improvement in cognitive function beyond 3 months of treatment and that improvements in cognitive function will be associated with a greater likelihood of employment, real-world outcomes, such as independent living, as well as measures of brain function.

Inclusion Criteria: male or female between 18-40 years of age meet DSM-IV criteria for first-episode schizophreniform, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder Exclusion Criteria: pregnant & breast-feeding women patients with known sensitivity to oral Risperdal