Improvement of acute exacerbations of schizophrenia with amisulpride : a comparison with haloperidol

• Published in: Psychopharmacologia Vol. 132; no. 4; pp. 396 - 401
• Main Authors: MÖLLER, H. J, BOYER, P, FLEUROT, O, REIN, W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin Springer 01-08-1997; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Basal ganglia; Biological and medical sciences; Central nervous system diseases; Dopamine D2 receptors; Dopamine D3 receptors; Emotional behavior; Extrapyramidal system; Haloperidol; Medical sciences; Mental disorders; Movement disorders; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psycholeptics: tranquillizer, neuroleptic; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Schizophrenia; Human; Neuroleptic; Psychotropic; Treatment efficiency; Multicenter study; Oral administration; Amisulpride; Schizophrenia; Butyrophenone derivatives; Haloperidol; Psychosis; Chemotherapy; D2 Dopamine receptor; Negative symptom; Double blind study; Benzamide derivatives; Antagonist; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0033-3158; 1432-2072
• DOI: 10.1007/s002130050361

Amisulpride is a substituted benzamide with high selectivity for dopaminergic D2 and D3 receptors. This study compared 800 mg/day amisulpride and 20 mg/day haloperidol in patients with acute exacerbations of schizophrenia. This multicenter, double-blind trial involved 191 patients allocated, after a 1 to 7-day wash-out period, to amisulpride (n = 95) or haloperidol (n = 96) for 6 weeks. Improvement of mean BPRS total score was 48% for amisulpride and 38% for haloperidol (NS), whereas improvement in the Negative PANSS subscale was greater in the amisulpride group (37%) compared to haloperidol (24%) (P = 0.038). CGI scores showed a higher number of responders in the amisulpride (62%) than in the haloperidol group (44%) (P = 0.014). More extrapyramidal symptoms measured with the Simpson-Angus scale were provoked in the haloperidol group (P = 0.0009). Amisulpride is at least as effective as haloperidol in the treatment of acute exacerbations of schizophrenia, and is more effective in the treatment of negative symptoms whilst causing less parkinsonism.