The Impact of Quetiapine on the Drug Abuse Patterns of Addicted Schizophrenic Patients

Université de Montréal

Overview

The lifetime of substance use disorders in schizophrenia is close to 50%. Substance abuse in schizophrenia is associated with negative consequences. Unfortunately, there no clear guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of this dual diagnosis population. Preliminary results suggest that second-generation antipsychotic drugs (mainly clozapine) may relieve drug cravings in schizophrenia. We performed a 12-week pilot study to evaluate the impact of quetiapine, a second-generation antipsychotic, on substance abuse parameters, psychiatric symptoms and side effects in patients schizophrenia and comorbid substance use disorders. Our expectation was a 20 % decrease in drug cravings from baseline to end-point.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Masking

NONE

Conditions

Schizophrenia Substance Use Disorders

Interventions

quetiapine (drug)DRUG

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 55 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients with as schizophrenia spectrum disorder * Patients with a comorbid substance use disorder Exclusion Criteria: * Patients already on quetiapine or clozapine * Patients hospitalized or acutely ill * Total score lower than 65 on the PANSS * Pregnancy * Female subjects of childbearing potential without adequate contraception * Abnormal liver function (hepatic enzymes more than 3 times the upper normal limits) * Any clinically meaningful unstable renal, hepatic, cardiovascular, respiratory, cerebrovascular disease or other serious, progressive physical disease.

Locations (1)

Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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