Debra Phillips

Lurasidone in the treatment of acute schizophrenia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE Lurasidone is a novel psychotropic agent with high affinity for D(2) and 5-HT(2A) receptors, as well as for receptors implicated in the enhancement of cognition and mood and the reduction of negative symptoms (5-HT(7), 5-HT(1A), and alpha(2c)). The objective of the study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of lurasidone in patients hospitalized for an acute exacerbation of DSM-IV-defined schizophrenia. METHOD Patients were randomly assigned to 6 weeks of double-blind treatment with a fixed dose of lurasidone 80 mg (N = 90, 75.6% male, mean age = 39.7 years, mean baseline score on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale derived from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [BPRSd] = 55.1) or placebo (N = 90, 77.8% male, mean age = 41.9 years, mean BPRSd score = 56.1). The primary efficacy measure was the BPRSd. The study was conducted from May to December 2004. RESULTS At day 42, last-observation-carried-forward endpoint, treatment with lurasidone was associated with significant improvement compared to placebo on the BPRSd (least squares mean +/- SE = -8.9 +/- 1.3 vs. -4.2 +/- 1.4; p = .012), as well as on all secondary efficacy measures, including the PANSS total score (-14.1 +/- 2.1 vs. -5.5 +/- 2.2; p = .004) and the PANSS positive (-4.3 +/- 0.7 vs. -1.7 +/- 0.7; p = .006), negative (-2.9 +/- 0.5 vs. -1.3 +/- 0.5; p = .025), and general psychopathology (-7.0 +/- 1.1 vs. -2.7 +/- 1.2; p = .0061) subscales. Significant improvement was seen as early as day 3, based on BPRSd, PANSS, and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness assessments. Treatment with lurasidone was generally well tolerated and was not associated with adverse changes in metabolic or electrocardiogram parameters. There were no clinically significant differences between lurasidone and placebo in objective measures of extrapyramidal symptoms. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that the novel psychotropic agent lurasidone is a safe and effective treatment for patients with an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia. TRIAL REGISTRATION (ClinicalTrials.gov) Identifier: NCT00088634.

Lurasidone in the Treatment of Schizophrenia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo- and Olanzapine-Controlled Study

OBJECTIVE The study was designed to evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of lurasidone in the treatment of acute schizophrenia. METHOD Participants, who were recently admitted inpatients with schizophrenia with an acute exacerbation of psychotic symptoms, were randomly assigned to 6 weeks of double-blind treatment with 40 mg of lurasidone, 120 mg of lurasidone, 15 mg of olanzapine (included to test for assay sensitivity), or placebo, dosed once daily. Efficacy was evaluated using a mixed-model repeated-measures analysis of the change from baseline to week 6 in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score (as the primary efficacy measure) and Clinical Global Impressions severity (CGI-S) score (as the key secondary efficacy measure). RESULTS Treatment with both doses of lurasidone or with olanzapine was associated with significantly greater improvement at week 6 on PANSS total score, PANSS positive and negative subscale scores, and CGI-S score compared with placebo. There was no statistically significant difference in mean PANSS total or CGI-S change scores for the lurasidone groups compared with the olanzapine group. With responders defined as those with an improvement of at least 20% on the PANSS, endpoint responder rates were significant compared with placebo for olanzapine only. The incidence of akathisia was higher with 120 mg of lurasidone (22.9%) than with 40 mg of lurasidone (11.8%), olanzapine (7.4%), or placebo (0.9%). The proportion of patients experiencing ≥ 7% weight gain was 5.9% for the lurasidone groups combined, 34.4% for the olanzapine group, and 7.0% for the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS Lurasidone was an effective treatment for patients with acute schizophrenia. Safety assessments indicated a higher frequency of adverse events associated with 120 mg/day of lurasidone compared with 40 mg/day.

Lurasidone for the treatment of acutely psychotic patients with schizophrenia: A 6-week, randomized, placebo-controlled study

Despite the availability of established antipsychotic agents for the treatment of schizophrenia, continued unmet needs exist for effective medications with lower adverse-effect burden. The present study evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of treatment with the atypical antipsychotic lurasidone for patients with an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia. Patients were randomized to 6 weeks of double-blind treatment with lurasidone 40 mg/day, 80 mg/day, or 120 mg/day, or placebo. Changes in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores were evaluated using mixed-model repeated-measures (MMRM) analysis. Vital signs, laboratory parameters, extrapyramidal symptoms, and electrocardiogram were assessed. Treatment with lurasidone 80 mg/day resulted in significantly greater improvement in PANSS total score compared with placebo (-23.4 versus -17.0; p < 0.05) at study endpoint (MMRM); lurasidone 40 mg/day and 120 mg/day achieved clinically meaningful overall PANSS score reductions from baseline (-19.2 and -20.5), but not significant separation from placebo. Differences between all lurasidone groups and placebo for changes in laboratory parameters and electrocardiographic measures were minimal. Weight gain ≥ 7% occurred in 8.2% of patients receiving lurasidone and 3.2% receiving placebo. Modest increases in prolactin (median increase, 0.7 ng/mL) and extrapyramidal symptoms were observed following treatment with lurasidone compared with placebo. Akathisia was the most commonly reported adverse event with lurasidone (17.6%, versus 3.1% with placebo). In this study, in which a large placebo response was observed, lurasidone 80 mg/day, but not 40 mg/day or 120 mg/day, was statistically superior to placebo in treating acute exacerbation of chronic schizophrenia. All lurasidone doses were generally well tolerated.

Long-term safety and tolerability of lurasidone in schizophrenia: a 12-month, double-blind, active-controlled study.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of lurasidone in the treatment of schizophrenia. Clinically stable adult outpatients with schizophrenia were randomized in a 2 : 1 ratio to 12 months of double-blind treatment with once-daily, flexibly-dosed lurasidone (40–120 mg) or risperidone (2–6 mg). Outcome measures included adverse events (AEs), vital signs, ECG, and laboratory tests. Secondary assessments included measures of psychopathology. A total of 427 patients were randomized to treatment with lurasidone and 202 with risperidone. The three most frequent AEs in the lurasidone group (vs. risperidone) were nausea (16.7 vs. 10.9%), insomnia (15.8 vs. 13.4%), and sedation (14.6 vs. 13.9%); the three most frequent AEs in the risperidone group (vs. lurasidone) were increased weight (19.8 vs. 9.3%), somnolence (17.8 vs. 13.6%), and headache (14.9 vs. 10.0%). A higher proportion of patients receiving risperidone had at least a 7% endpoint increase in weight (14 vs. 7%). The median endpoint change in prolactin was significantly higher for risperidone (P<0.001). A comparable improvement in efficacy measures was observed with both agents and the rates of relapse were similar. All-cause discontinuation rates were higher for lurasidone versus risperidone. Long-term treatment with lurasidone was generally well tolerated in this study, with minimal effects on weight and metabolic outcomes.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized withdrawal study of lurasidone for the maintenance of efficacy in patients with schizophrenia

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of lurasidone as maintenance treatment for schizophrenia. Method: Adults experiencing an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia initially received 12–24 weeks of open-label treatment with lurasidone (40–80 mg/d, flexibly dosed). Patients who maintained clinical stability for ⩾12 weeks were randomized in double-blind fashion to placebo or lurasidone (40–80 mg/d, flexibly dosed) for an additional 28-week treatment period. The primary efficacy endpoint was time to relapse (based on Kaplan–Meier survival analysis). Results: A total of 676 patients enrolled in the open-label phase; 285 met protocol-specified stabilization criteria and were randomized to lurasidone (N=144) or placebo (N=141). During the open-label phase, mean Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score decreased from 90.1 to 54.4 in patients who met clinical stability criteria and were randomized. In the double-blind phase, lurasidone significantly delayed time to relapse compared with placebo (log-rank test, p=0.039), reflecting a 33.7% reduction in risk of relapse (Cox hazard ratio (95% confidence interval), 0.663 (0.447–0.983); p=0.041). Probability of relapse at the double-blind week 28 endpoint (based on Kaplan–Meier analysis) was 42.2% in the lurasidone group and 51.2% in the placebo group. Minimal changes in weight, lipid, glucose, and prolactin were observed throughout the study. Conclusions: This multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized withdrawal study demonstrated the efficacy of lurasidone for the maintenance treatment of patients with schizophrenia.