Safety and Efficacy of Paliperidone Palmitate in Pediatric Patients with Autism and Intellectual Disability

This retrospective chart review examines the safety, tolerability and effectiveness of long acting injectable paliperidone palmitate (P-LAI) targeting irritability in twenty-six youth and transition-aged individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or intellectual disability (ID) over a 3-year window. Clinical response was evaluated via prospectively assigned Clinical Global Impressions Severity (CGI-S) and Improvement (CGI-I) scales as well as number of hospital presentations. P-LAI was well tolerated with only 3 patients stopping P-LAI due to side effects. The average duration of P-LAI treatment was 21.1 months. Difficulty with medication compliance was the most common reason for initiating P-LAI. There was a statistically significant improvement in CGI-I, CGI-S and hospital visits and no change in BMI noted. Given the potential difficulty of medication administration in this population, this evidence of safety, tolerability as well as preliminary data supporting effectiveness is an important addition to the literature regarding psychopharmacologic management of irritability in youth with ASD and ID.

Predictors of psychosis breakthrough during 24 months of long-acting antipsychotic maintenance treatment in first episode schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Some patients develop breakthrough psychotic symptoms on antipsychotic maintenance medication (BAMM), despite receiving therapeutic antipsychotic doses to which they previously responded.

METHODS

We examined the occurrence of BAMM in previously minimally treated first-episode patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders who were treated according to a standard protocol with a long-acting injectable antipsychotic and regularly assessed over 24 months.

RESULTS

Of 99 patients (age = 24.1 ± 6.5 years, male = 73.7%) who received treatment for ≥6 months (mean follow-up = 20.0 ± 6.5 months) and had responded well to treatment, 21 (21.2%) developed BAMM using operationally defined criteria, after a mean of 17.4 ± 6.1 months. Baseline risk factors for BAMM included lower baseline Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale positive symptoms, poorer quality of life in social relationships and higher blood - high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Regarding intra-treatment-factors, BAMM was independently predicted by an increase in low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and current cannabis use. We did not find a relationship between BAMM and cumulative antipsychotic exposure or dose escalation. While symptoms of the BAMM episode were less severe than during the first episode, the post-BAMM treatment response was poorer than that for the first psychotic episode, suggesting a relationship between BAMM and emergent treatment refractoriness.

CONCLUSIONS

About one in five patients with first-episode schizophrenia developed BAMM during the first two years of treatment, despite assured antipsychotic LAI treatment, indicating that this phenomenon is not restricted to the chronic stages of illness. The role of cannabis use and a possible link between BAMM and blood lipids should be further explored.

Prolactin, flupenthixol decanoate and first episode schizophrenia - clinical and laboratory correlates

First-episode psychosis (FEP) patients are more sensitive to neuroleptic side-effects such as hyperprolactinemia. We examined the prolactin levels of previously minimally treated patients with first episode schizophrenia over their first year of treatment with flupenthixol decanoate and the relationship between prolactin levels, gender and clinical features of schizophrenia. Prolactin levels were assessed at three monthly intervals in 126 patients with first-episode schizophrenia in a single-site study conducted over 12 months during treatment with flupenthixol decanoate according to a fixed protocol. The mean prolactin level for the total sample was 11.91 ng/ml (standard deviation [SD]15.52) at baseline. Women had higher levels of prolactin than men at month 3, 6 and 12, reaching statistical significance at month 12 (p = 0.02). At 12 months more women than men had hyperprolactinemia (defined as more than 20 ng/ml for males, and as more than 25 ng/ml for females (p = 0.007). Using a mixed effect model, there was a significant association between prolactin change scores over 12 months and gender (p = 0.025) as well as Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total scores (p = 0.001). In addition female gender (p = 0.04) and age (p = 0.02) correlated with the risk of hyperprolactinemia as categorical variable. In this study treatment with flupenthixol decanoate was associated with relatively low levels of hyperprolactinemia, likely owing to flupenthixol's relatively atypical mode of action, as well as to the low doses used in our study. We found an inverse correlation between total PANSS scores and prolactin levels, which could support the suggested theory of prolactin having antipsychotic properties. Our study confirms the importance of gender on the prolactin raising effects of antipsychotic treatment.

Medication nonadherence in bipolar disorder: a narrative review

A number of effective maintenance medication options exist for bipolar disorder (BD) and these are regarded as the foundation of long-term treatment in BD. However, nonadherence to medication is common in BD. For example, a large data base study in the United States of America (USA) showed that approximately half of patients with BD were nonadherent with lithium and maintenance medications over a 12 month period. Such nonadherence carries a high risk of relapse due to the recurrent nature of the illness and the fact that abrupt cessation of treatment, particularly lithium, may cause rebound depression and mania. Indeed, medication nonadherence in BD is associated with significantly increased risks of relapse, recurrence, hospitalization and suicide attempts and a decreased likelihood of achieving remission and recovery, as well as with higher overall treatment costs. Factors associated with nonadherence include adverse effects of medication, complex medication regimens, negative patient attitudes to medication, poor insight, rapid-cycling BD, comorbid substance misuse and a poor therapeutic alliance. Clinicians should routinely enquire about nonadherence in a nonjudgmental fashion. Potential steps to improve adherence include simple pragmatic strategies related to prescribing including shared decision-making, psychoeducation with a clear focus on adherence, reminders (traditional and digital), potentially using a depot rather than an oral antipsychotic, managing comorbid substance misuse and improving therapeutic alliance. Financial incentives have been shown to improve adherence to depot antipsychotics, but this approach raises ethical issues and its long-term effectiveness is unknown. Often a combination of approaches will be required. The strategies that are adopted need to be patient specific, reflecting that nonadherence has no single cause, and chosen by the patient and clinician working together.

Decision-making Capacity for Treatment of Psychotic Patients on Long Acting Injectable Antipsychotic Treatment

OBJECTIVE

Providing informed, consent requires patients' Decision-Making Capacity for treatment. We evaluated the Decision Making Capacity of outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder on treatment with Long Acting Injectable Antipsychotic medication.

METHOD

This is a retrospective, cross-sectional, correlational study conducted at two Depot Clinics in Athens, Greece. Participants included 65 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder on treatment with Long Acting Injectable Antipsychotics.

RESULTS

Over half of the participants showed poor understanding of the information given regarding their disease and treatment (Understanding subscale), however >70% seemed to comprehend the relevance of this information to their medical condition (Appreciation subscale). Moreover, half of the participants reported adequate reasoning ability (Reasoning subscale), whilst patients who gained >7% of their body weight scored statistically significantly higher in the subscales of Understanding and Appreciation.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that there is a proportion of patients with significantly diminished Decision Making Capacity, hence a full assessment is recommended in order to track them down. Further research is needed to better interpret the association between antipsychotic induced weight gain and Decision Making Capacity in patients suffering from schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Use of mesoporous cellular foam (MCF) in preparation of polymeric microspheres for long acting injectable release formulations of paliperidone antipsychotic drug

In this study, high surface area mesoporous silica foam with cellular pore morphology (MCF) was used for injectable delivery of paliperidone, an antipsychotic drug used in patients suffering from bipolar disorder. The aim was to enhance paliperidone solubility and simultaneously to prepare long active intractable microspheres. For this reason paliperidone was first loaded in MCF silica, and the whole system was further encapsulated into PLA and PLGA 75/25w/w copolymer in the form of microspheres. It was found that paliperidone, after its adsorption into MCF, was transformed in its amorphous state, thus leading to enhanced in vitro dissolution profile. Furthermore, incorporation of the drug-loaded MCF to polymeric microparticles (PLA and PLGA) prolonged the release time of paliperidone from 10 to 15days.

Economic analysis of paliperidone long-acting injectable for chronic schizophrenia in Portugal

OBJECTIVE

Patients with chronic schizophrenia suffer a huge burden, as do their families/caregivers. Treating schizophrenia is costly for health systems. The European Medicines Agency has approved paliperidone palmitate (PP-LAI; Xeplion), an atypical antipsychotic depot; however, its pharmacoeconomic profile in Portugal is unknown. A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted from the viewpoint of the Portuguese National Health Service.

METHODS

PP-LAI was compared with long acting injectables risperidone (RIS-LAI) and haloperidol (HAL-LAI) and oral drugs (olanzapine; oral-OLZ) adapting a 1-year decision tree to Portugal, guided by local experts. Clinical information and costs were obtained from literature sources and published lists. Outcomes included relapses (both requiring and not requiring hospitalization) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Costs were expressed in 2014 euros. Economic outcomes were incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs); including cost-utility (outcome = QALYs) and cost-effectiveness analyses (outcomes = relapse/hospitalization/emergency room (ER) visit avoided).

RESULTS

The base-case cost of oral-OLZ was 4447€ (20% drugs/20% medical/60% hospital); HAL-LAI cost 4474€ (13% drugs/13% medical/74% hospital); PP-LAI cost 5326€ (49% drugs/12% medical/39% hospital); RIS-LAI cost 6223€ (44% drugs/12% medical/44% hospital). Respective QALYs/hospitalizations/ER visits were oral-OLZ: 0.761/0.615/0.242; HAL-LAI: 0.758/0.623/0.250; PP-LAI: 0.823/0.288/0.122; RIS-LAI: 0.799/0.394/0.168. HAL-LAI was dominated by oral-OLZ and RIS-LAI by PP-LAI for all outcomes. The ICER of PP-LAI over oral-OLZ was 14,247€/QALY, well below NICE/Portuguese thresholds (≈24,800€/30,000€/QALY). ICERs were 1973€/relapse avoided and 2697€/hospitalization avoided. Analyses were robust against most variations in input values, as PP-LAI was cost-effective over oral-OLZ in >99% of 10,000 simulations.

CONCLUSION

In Portugal, PP-LAI dominated HAL-LAI and RIS-LAI and was cost-effective over oral-OLZ with respect to QALYs gained, relapses avoided, and hospitalizations avoided.

A six month randomized controlled trial of long acting injectable risperidone 50 and 100mg in treatment resistant schizophrenia

It has been suggested that atypical antipsychotic drugs (A-APDs) other than clozapine may be effective to improve positive symptoms in some patients with treatment resistant schizophrenia (TRS), if both the dose is higher, and the duration of the trial longer, than those which have been ineffective in non-TRS (NTRS) patients. This hypothesis was tested with long acting injectable risperidone (Risperdal Consta®, RLAI). One hundred sixty TRS patients selected for persistent moderate-severe delusions or hallucinations, or both, were randomized to RLAI, 50 or 100mg biweekly, in a six month, outpatient, double-blind, multicenter trial. We hypothesized that RLAI, 100mg, would be more effective than RLAI, 50mg. However, both doses produced clinically significant and equivalent improvement in PANSS Total, Positive, and Negative subscale scores, as well as key cognitive, global and functional measures, with increasing response during the course of the study, confirming the value of longer clinical trial duration for patients with TRS, but not superiority of the higher dose. The overall response rate was comparable to that previously reported for clozapine and high dose olanzapine, another A-APD, in TRS. Both doses of RLAI were equally well tolerated, producing minimal extrapyramidal side effects and few drop outs. Plasma levels of the active moiety, risperidone+9-hydroxyrisperidone, during treatment with RLAI 100mg, were comparable to those for 6-8 mg/day oral risperidone, which have not been effective in TRS. Further study of RLAI, ≥ 50-100mg biweekly, should compare it with clozapine and oral risperidone in TRS, with duration of treatment ≥ six months.