Combination Treatment Shows Promise For Schizophrenia
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PORTLAND, Oregon, December 20, 2002 -- Reporting in the January issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center researchers and colleagues have found that combining the anticonvulsant drug divalproex with either olanzapine or risperidone-two commonly used antipsychotic drugs-significantly enhanced and hastened responses in patients suffering from acute psychotic episodes of schizophrenia.
"Our findings suggest that combination therapy with divalproex can decrease the mental pain and suffering for many patients with schizophrenia and shorten the time they need to be in the hospital," said study leader Daniel E. Casey, M.D., Associate Director of Research for the VA Northwest Network's Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Portland VAMC and Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Oregon Health & Science University.
Compared to patients treated with either antipsychotic drug alone, the researchers found, those treated with the combination showed an enhanced reduction of symptoms as early as the third day of therapy. Further, the combination therapy was as well tolerated as either antipsychotic drug used alone, with no additional side effects.
More than 2 million Americans suffer from schizophrenia. One of the world's most common and potentially devastating of all mental illnesses, this chronic disorder is characterized by symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations and grossly disorganized behavior. Patients often have difficulty recognizing reality, thinking logically and behaving normally in so
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