The effect of adjunctive mood stabilizers on antipsychotic utilization pattern and health resource utilization for Medicaid enrollees with schizophrenia

Global Neuropsychopharmacological Prescription Trends in Adults with Schizophrenia, Clinical Correlates and Implications for Practice: A Scoping Review

It is important to examine the psychotropic prescription practices in schizophrenia, as it can inform regarding changing treatment choices and related patient profiles. No recent reviews have evaluated the global neuropsychopharmacological prescription patterns in adults with schizophrenia. A systematic search of the literature published from 2002 to 2023 found 88 empirical papers pertinent to the utilization of psychotropic agents. Globally, there were wide inter-country and inter-regional variations in the prescription of psychotropic agents. Overall, over time there was an absolute increase in the prescription rate of second-generation antipsychotics (up to 50%), mood stabilizers (up to 15%), and antidepressants (up to 17%), with an observed absolute decrease in the rate of antipsychotic polypharmacy (up to 15%), use of high dose antipsychotic (up to 12% in Asia), clozapine (up to 9%) and antipsychotic long-acting injectables (up to 10%). Prescription patterns were mainly associated with specific socio-demographic (such as age), illness (such as illness duration), and treatment factors (such as adherence). Further work, including more evidence in adjunctive neuropsychopharmacological treatments, pharmaco-economic considerations, and examination of cohorts in prospective studies, can proffer insights into changing prescription trends relevant to different treatment settings and predictors of such trends for enhancement of clinical management in schizophrenia.

Psychotropic drug-prescribing correlates of disorganized speech in Asians with schizophrenia: The REAP-AP study

BACKGROUND

Although disorganized speech is seen as one of the nuclear features of schizophrenia, there have been few reports of disorganized speech-associated psychotropic drug-prescribing patterns in large samples of schizophrenia patients.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to examine the prevalence of disorganized speech and its correlates in terms of psychotropic drug prescribing, using the data from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Patterns for Antipsychotics (REAP-AP) study.

METHOD

A total of 3744 patients with the ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenia were enrolled from 71 survey centers in 15 Asian countries/areas. An essential criterion of disorganized speech was that it was "severe enough to impair substantially effective communication" as defined in the DSM-5. A binary logistic model was fitted to identify the psychotropic drug-prescribing correlates of disorganized speech.

RESULTS

After adjusting for the potential effects of confounding variables, the binary logistic regression model showed that the presence of disorganized speech was directly associated with adjunctive use of mood stabilizers (P < 0.001) and cumulative diazepam equivalent dose (P < 0.0001), and inversely associated with adjunctive use of anti-Parkinson drugs (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

The association between disorganized speech and adjunctive use of mood stabilizers could perhaps be understood in the context of a relationship with impulsiveness/aggressiveness, or in terms of deconstructing the Kraepelinian dualism.

Comparison of treatment patterns in schizophrenia between China and Japan (2001-2009)

INTRODUCTION

To date no study has compared the treatment patterns for schizophrenia specifically between China and Japan. This study examined the cross-national differences in the use of psychotropic drugs and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in schizophrenia.

METHOD

Data on 3248 schizophrenia inpatients (n = 1524 in China and n = 1724 in Japan) were collected by either chart review or interviews during the designated 3 study periods between 2001 and 2009. Patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, prescriptions of psychotropic drugs, and ECT use were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure.

RESULTS

Multivariate analyses revealed that compared to their Japanese counterparts, Chinese inpatients had a shorter length of current hospitalization, were significantly less frequently prescribed second-generation antipsychotics (except clozapine), antipsychotic polypharmacy, benzodiazepines, and mood stabilizers, and more likely to receive clozapine, antidepressants, and ECT.

DISCUSSION

Substantial variations in inpatient treatment patterns for schizophrenia were found between China and Japan. The common use of ECT and clozapine in Chinese inpatients and the frequent use of antipsychotic polypharmacy and high antipsychotic doses in Japanese inpatients need to be addressed.

Trends in the access to and the use of antipsychotic medications and psychotropic co-treatments in Asian patients with schizophrenia

To date, antipsychotics remain the mainstay of treatment for schizophrenia and related disorders although other psychotropic medications and non-pharmaceutical interventions have been used adjunctively in some patients and settings. Regular surveys on access to and prescription patterns of psychotropic medications in clinical practice are an important and efficient way of examining the use and time trends of treatments in a given population and region. Unlike developed Western countries, Asian countries have not fully undergone deinstitutionalisation of the severely and chronically mentally ill, and community-based mental health services are still under-developed. As a result, a large number of psychiatric patients still receive treatments in psychiatric hospitals. Moreover, there have been very limited studies examining access to and prescription patterns of psychotropic medications for schizophrenia patients in Asian countries. In this paper, we focus on the only international project on the use of psychotropic medications in schizophrenia patients in selected East and Southeast Asian countries/territories summarising its major findings. Most of the first- and second-generation antipsychotics (FGAs and SGAs) are available in Asian countries, but the access to psychotropic medications is largely affected by socio-cultural and historical contexts, health insurance schemes, health care policy, medication cost and consumers' preference across different countries/territories. Overall, the proportional use of FGAs, high dose antipsychotic treatment and antipsychotic polypharmacy have decreased, while the use of SGAs and antidepressants have increased and the utilisation of benzodiazepines and mood stabilisers has remained relatively stable over time. However, within these general trends, there is great inter-country variation regarding the psychotropic prescribing patterns and trends in Asian schizophrenia patients that also seems to differ from data in many Western countries.

Significant Effect of Valproate Augmentation Therapy in Patients With Schizophrenia: A Meta-analysis Study

Valproate is an anticonvulsant, which is also widely used for treating psychiatric disorders. Some clinical trials have demonstrated benefits of valproate augmentation therapy in schizophrenia. Previous meta-analysis showed inconsistent findings because of limited literature at that time. The aim of this study is to update the newer published data by conducting a meta-analysis of clinical efficacy of valproate augmentation therapy in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Data sources include electronic research through platform of PubMed. Study eligibility criteria, participants, and interventions were as follows: the inclusion criteria included articles discussing comparisons of the treatment effect in schizophrenic patients treated with antipsychotic augmented with valproate and antipsychotics with/without placebo; articles on clinical trials in humans. The exclusion criteria were case reports or series and nonclinical trials. We compared the effect between antipsychotic treatment with valproate augmentation and antipsychotic monotherapy. Data from clinical trials were pooled by random-effects model, and possible confounding variables were examined through meta-regression and subgroup analysis. Data from 11 articles including 889 patients were included into current meta-analysis. We found patients treated with antipsychotics with valproate augmentation showed significantly more improvement in total psychopathology than those treated with antipsychotics only (P = 0.02). Results from open trials, but not from randomized controlled trials (P = 0.20), showed significant improvement (P = 0.01). In addition, the significance only persisted in the studies conducted with a shorter treatment duration (P < 0.001) rather than longer treatment duration (P = 0.23). There is no difference in the dropout rate between valproate augmentation and antipsychotic treatment only (P = 0.14). We could not perform a detailed meta-analysis for every category of antipsychotics, long-term effect, and safety profiles of valproate augmentation therapy in maintenance treatment, safety in pregnant patients, and subtype of schizophrenia. Our meta-analysis highlights the significantly better treatment effect with valproate augmentation therapy in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and provides important evidence for supporting the practice of valproate augmentation therapy in these patients.

Off-label use of sodium valproate for schizophrenia

Background

Off-label use of a drug not according to its regulatory labeling has become common in medicine, especially in the field of psychiatry. Mood stabilizers are intended to be used to attenuate mood fluctuations in bipolar disorder, but their use has spread to patients with schizophrenia, as it provides greater control of impulsivity and aggressiveness. Sodium valproate is one of the most frequently used mood stabilizers in psychiatry. This study determined the prevalence of off-label use of sodium valproate for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder in Abarbanel Psychiatric Hospital and the demographic and clinical characteristics associated with its use.

Methods

Retrospective study of patients hospitalized in 2011–2012 with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in one of three general psychiatric wards.

Results

Valproate use was significantly lower in the geriatric group (11.6% vs. 20.1%, chi square  = 4.7, p = .03), in patients with schizophrenia (14.1% vs. schizoaffective disorder (35.2%), chi square  = 29, p<.001) and in patients receiving both atypical and typical antipsychotics (23.3% vs. 16.4%, p = .04). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, diagnosis and the combination of atypical and typical antipsychotics predicted the use of sodium valproate. The number of other medications prescribed did not predict sodium valproate use.

Conclusions

Off-label use of sodium valproate in psychiatric patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder is extensive, especially in younger patients and those with schizoaffective disorder. More research is needed to determine whether it is being prescribed appropriately.

The contextual fear conditioning deficit presented by spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) is not improved by mood stabilizers

OBJECTIVES

We have recently reported that spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) present a contextual fear conditioning (CFC) deficit. This deficit is improved by antipsychotic drugs, potentiated by proschizophrenia manipulations and not altered by acute administration of carbamazepine, lamotrigine and valproic acid. Nevertheless, the effects of lithium-a classical mood stabilizer-or repeated treatment with these drugs were not evaluated. The main aim of the present study was to extend our previous work by investigating a possible beneficial effect of acute and/or chronic treatments with lithium or lamotrigine on the acquisition deficit of CFC presented by SHR.

METHODS

Rats were submitted to CFC task after an acute treatment with lithium and/or a repeated treatment with lithium and lamotrigine.

RESULTS

Our data revealed that the CFC deficit presented by SHR is not improved by acute or repeated treatment with lithium. Repeated lamotrigine treatment potentiated the deficit presented by SHR and impaired CFC in control animals (Wistar Rats).

CONCLUSIONS

These data reinforce the absence of beneficial effects of mood stabilizers on the emotional context processing impairment modeled by SHR.

Sex differences in use of psychotropic drugs and drug-induced side effects in schizophrenia patients: findings of the Research on Asia Psychotropic Prescription (REAP) studies

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the sex differences in prescribing patterns of psychotropic drugs and drug-induced side effects in schizophrenia patients in Asia using the data of the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Pattern (REAP) surveys.

METHOD

The prescription patterns of 6,441 schizophrenia inpatients in six Asian countries and regions were investigated during the 2001-2009 period. The patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics and their prescriptions for psychotropic drugs were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure.

RESULTS

Univariate analyses found the following factors to be significantly associated with the male sex: a younger age, higher doses of antipsychotics, less prominent delusions and hallucinations, more prominent negative symptoms, less likelihood of a prescription for second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), greater use of antipsychotic polypharmacy, mood stabilizers and depot antipsychotics, more frequent tardive dyskinesia (TD), and less weight gain. In multivariate analyses, fewer prescriptions for SGAs, greater use of mood stabilizers, anticholinergics, antipsychotic polypharmacy and depot antipsychotics, extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) and TD, and less weight gain were independently associated with the male sex.

CONCLUSIONS

Sex is one of the independent contributors to psychotropic prescription and side effects in Asian schizophrenia patients. Psychopharmacological treatment guidelines for schizophrenia should consider the sexes separately.

Elderly patients with schizophrenia and depression: diagnosis and treatment

BACKGROUND

The treatment of older patients with schizophrenia and depressive symptoms poses many challenges for clinicians. Current classifications of depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia include: Major Depressive Episodes that occur in patients with schizophrenia and are not classified as schizoaffective disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder, and Schizophrenia with subsyndromal depression in which depressive symptoms do not meet criteria for Major Depression. Research indicates that the presence of any of these depressive symptoms negatively impacts the lives of patients suffering from schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature related to older patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and co-occurring depressive symptoms, and to guide mental health professionals to better understand the diagnosis and treatment of depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

CONCLUSIONS

The treatment of elderly patients with schizophrenia and depressive symptoms includes first reassessing the diagnosis to make sure symptoms are not due to a comorbid condition, metabolic problems or medications. If these are ruled out, pharmacological agents in combination with psychosocial interventions are important treatments for older patients with schizophrenia and depressive symptoms. A careful assessment of each patient is needed in order to determine which antipsychotic would be optimal for their care; second-generation antipsychotics are the most commonly used antipsychotics. Augmentation with an antidepressant medication can be helpful for the elderly patient with schizophrenia and depressive symptoms. More research with pharmacologic and psychosocial interventions is needed, however, to better understand how to treat this population of elderly patients.

Is aspirin useful in patients on lithium? A pharmacoepidemiological study related to bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVES

Administration to rats of mood stabilizers approved for bipolar disorder (BD) downregulates markers of the brain arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4n-6) metabolic cascade, including phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) and cyclooxygenase (COX) expression. We hypothesized that other agents that target the brain AA cascade, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticoids, also would ameliorate BD symptoms.

METHODS

Medication histories on subjects who had been prescribed lithium were collected from the Netherlands PHARMO Record Linkage System. Data were stratified according to drug classes that inhibit PLA(2) and/or COX enzymes, and duration of use. Incidence density (ID) of medication events (dose increase or substance change) was used as a proxy for clinical worsening. ID ratios in patients with the inhibitors plus lithium were compared to ratios in patients using lithium alone.

RESULTS

Low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) significantly reduced the ID ratio of medication events, independent of use duration. The ID ratios of NSAIDs and glucocorticoids did not differ significantly from 1.0 if prescribed for > or =180 or > or =90 days, but exceeded 1.0 with shorter use. Selective COX-2 inhibitors had no significant effect and multiagent administration increased the ID ratio above 1.0.

CONCLUSIONS

Low-dose aspirin produced a statistically significant duration-independent reduction in the relative risk of clinical deterioration in subjects on lithium, whereas other NSAIDs and glucocorticoids did not. These tentative findings could be tested on larger databases containing detailed information about diagnosis and disease course, as well as by controlled clinical trials.