Risperidone long-acting injection: safety and efficacy in elderly patients with schizophrenia

Paroxetine combined with olanzapine in the treatment of schizophrenia

Objective:

To investigate the clinical efficacy of paroxetine combined with olanzapine in the treatment of senile schizophrenia with depression.

Methods:

Eighty-four elderly schizophrenic patients with depression who were admitted to our hospital from August 2016 to February 2018 were selected as research subjects and randomly divided into observation group and control group using random number table, 42 cases in each group. The control group was treated with olanzapine orally, while the observation group was treated with olanzapine and paroxetine orally. The level of homocysteine (Hcy) in the two groups was analyzed before and after treatment. The efficacy was evaluated by the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) score and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) score. The adverse reactions of the two groups were compared.

Results:

After treatment, the level of serum Hcy in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), and it was close to the normal level. There was no significant difference in PANSS score between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05). After treatment, the negative factor score and PANSS score in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The HAMD score of the two groups had no significant difference before treatment (P>0.05). After treatment, the HAMD score of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). The difference of incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups had no statistical significance (P>0.05).

Conclusion:

Paroxetine combined with olanzapine has a definite clinical effect in the treatment of senile schizophrenia with depression. It can effectively reduce the level of serum Hcy, relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia, and alleviate the depressive symptoms of patients, with high safety. It is worth promoting.

[Diseases of the schizophrenia spectrum disorder in old age : Diagnostic and therapeutic challenges]

BACKGROUND

The number of people with diseases of the schizophrenia spectrum in old age will increase significantly in the coming years. In the literature the topics of schizophrenia and delusional disorders in older and old people are inadequately represented.

AIM

This article gives an overview of the most important diagnostic and differential diagnostic characteristics. Another important aspect is the pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options in old age.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The S3 guidelines of the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN) from 2006, the guidelines of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) from 2012, 2013, 2015 and the consensus statement of the Austrian Association for Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry (ÖGPB) from 2016 formed the basic literature for this review. In addition, a targeted search in the databases PubMed, PubPsych and Cochrane Library as well as in German Journals, such as DerNervenarzt, Neuropsychiatrie, Psychiatrische Praxis and Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie concerning the keywords schizophrenia, delusional disorder, diagnostics, therapy and older people was carried out.

RESULTS

Besides aspects on epidemiology, clinical manifestation, diagnostics, differential diagnostics and course of the illness, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options are presented.

CONCLUSION/DISCUSSION

In clinical practice a clear diagnostic assignment is often a challenge in older and very old people with psychotic symptoms, The necessary pharmacological treatment is available but is limited by tolerability, comorbidities and polypharmacy. Non-pharmacological treatment options have hardly been investigated.