quetiapine-fumarate and Dizziness

Atypical antipsychotics may have efficacy as augmentation therapy in treatment resistant depression (TRD) but evidence is limited.. An open label study of quetiapine augmentation in 24 patients (mean age: 46.3 years) with a DSM-IV major depressive episode resistant to at least 2 trials of antidepressant medication, and currently taking a monoamine reuptake inhibitor. An 8-week treatment phase was followed by an 18-week extension in patients who showed clinical benefit.. Eighteen patients (75%) completed the 8-week treatment phase with seven patients (29%) being responders on the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale and 13 (54%) on the CGI-I. Fewer patients responded if they had previously received olanzapine in the current episode but this was not statistically significant (0% v 37%, p=0.27). Of the eleven patients entering the extension phase, 3 patients (27%) experienced a significant worsening of mood. The most common adverse events were sedation (54%), dry mouth (38%) and dizziness (29%). Significant weight gain was found in 40% of patients treated for 26 weeks. Average quetiapine doses were 245 mg at 8 weeks and 346 mg at 26 weeks.. Quetiapine may be a helpful adjunctive agent for some patients with TRD but placebo-controlled trials are needed to establish its place in management.. The trial was open-label and the numbers were small.

Topics: Adult; Antipsychotic Agents; Depressive Disorder, Major; Dibenzothiazepines; Dizziness; Drug Administration Schedule; Drug Resistance; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pilot Projects; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Quetiapine Fumarate; Severity of Illness Index; Treatment Outcome; Weight Gain

Second-generation antipsychotics with a favorable tolerability profile have offered new treatment options for patients with borderline personality disorder. Sparse data are available on the use of quetia-pine in treating this disorder. The aim of the present study is to investigate efficacy and tolerability of quetia-pine in a group of patients with borderline personality disorder.. Fourteen consecutive outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of borderline personality disorder were treated for 12 weeks with open-label quetiapine at the dose of 200-400 mg/day. Patients were assessed at baseline, week 4, and week 12 with the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) severity item, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A), the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS), the Borderline Personality Disorder Severity Index (BPDSI), and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-version 11 (BIS-11). Adverse effects were evaluated using the Dosage Record and Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale. Statistical analysis was performed with the ANOVA for repeated measures. Significant p values were < or = .05.. Eleven patients completed the study. Three patients (21.4%) dropped out due to excessive somnolence or noncompliance. The mean +/- SD dose of quetia-pine was 309.09 +/- 83.12 mg/day. A significant change was found for the scores of the following scales: CGI severity item, BPRS, HAM-A, SOFAS, BPDSI total score, BPDSI items "impulsivity" and "outbursts of anger," and BIS-11. Common adverse effects were mild-to-moderate somnolence, dry mouth, and dizziness.. Initial data suggest that quetiapine is efficacious and well tolerated in treating patients who have borderline personality disorder, particularly when impulsiveness/aggressiveness-related symptoms are prominent. At the moment, no reliable comparison is available in the literature. Double-blind controlled trials are needed to verify these findings.

Topics: Adult; Aggression; Analysis of Variance; Anger; Antipsychotic Agents; Borderline Personality Disorder; Dibenzothiazepines; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence; Dizziness; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Humans; Impulsive Behavior; Male; Pilot Projects; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Quetiapine Fumarate; Severity of Illness Index; Treatment Outcome; Xerostomia

Although serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are the most effective pharmacologic treatment currently available for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 40% to 60% of patients do not respond to this treatment. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine in addition to an SRI for treatment-refractory patients with OCD.. Forty patients (10 men/30 women, mean +/- SD age = 35.2 +/- 12.1 years; range, 18-60 years) with primary OCD according to DSM-IV criteria who were recruited between February 2001 and December 2002 were randomly assigned in an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to receive dosages titrated upward to 300 mg/day of quetiapine (N = 20) or placebo (N = 20) in addition to their SRI treatment. At entry, all patients were unresponsive to courses of treatment with at least 2 different SRIs at a maximum tolerated dose for 8 weeks. During the study, primary efficacy was assessed according to change from baseline on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). A responder was defined as having a final Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement scale rating of "very much improved" or "much improved" and a decrease of > or = 35% in Y-BOCS score.. An intent-to-treat, last-observation-carried-forward analysis demonstrated a mean +/- SD decrease in Y-BOCS score of 9.0 +/- 7.0 (31%) in the quetiapine group and 1.8 +/- 3.4 (7%) in the placebo group (F=16.99, df=1,38; p <.001). Eight (40%) of 20 patients in the quetiapine group and 2 (10%) of 20 patients in the placebo group were responders (chi2=4.8, df=1, p=.028). The most common side effects in the quetiapine group were somnolence, dry mouth, weight gain, and dizziness.. The results of this study show that quetiapine in addition to an SRI is beneficial for patients with OCD who do not respond to SRI treatment alone.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Ambulatory Care; Antipsychotic Agents; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Dibenzothiazepines; Dizziness; Double-Blind Method; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Placebos; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Quetiapine Fumarate; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Sleep; Treatment Outcome; Xerostomia

This uncontrolled trial examines the safety and effects of quetiapine, a new atypical antipsychotic, in elderly patients with psychotic disorders.. This is an ongoing, multicenter, open-label, 52-week trial of quetiapine in men and women at least 65 years old with DSM-IV psychotic disorders. Patients received quetiapine, 25 to 800 mg/day. Assessments included the 18-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Clinical Global Impressions scale (CGI), the Simpson-Angus Neurologic Rating Scale, and the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS).. An interim analysis was performed at 12 weeks with results from 151 patients. The median total daily dose was 100 mg/day. The most common adverse events were somnolence (32%), dizziness (14%), postural hypotension (13%), and agitation (11%). Extrapyramidal symptom adverse events occurred in 6% of patients. Mean Simpson-Angus Scale total score showed significant (p<.0001) improvement at endpoint; there were no changes in AIMS scores. BPRS total and CGI-Severity of Illness scores showed significant (p<.0001 and p<.01, respectively) improvement at endpoint. No clinically important effects were reported for hematologic or liver function test variables; small changes in mean free levorotatory thyroxine (T4) levels were not associated with substantial changes in mean thyroid-stimulating hormone concentration. Mean corrected QT interval (QTc) was unchanged, but a slight increase in mean heart rate was noted.. Quetiapine was well tolerated in a nonrandomized study of elderly patients and was associated with improvement in symptoms.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Akathisia, Drug-Induced; Antipsychotic Agents; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; Dibenzothiazepines; Dizziness; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Humans; Hypotension, Orthostatic; Male; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychotic Disorders; Quetiapine Fumarate; Sleep; Treatment Outcome

The efficacy and safety of quetiapine fumurate in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia were evaluated in an 8-week, multicenter, open-label study. The results of this study which included a total of 54 patients showed good efficacy and safety profile for quetiapine fumarate as seen by the improvement rate (moderate or above in the final global improvement rating) of 49.1% and safety rate (no problem in overall safety rating) of 66.0%. The mean BPRS total score decreased significantly from 55.5 +/- 10.9 points at baseline to 45.4 +/- 13.0 points at the completion of administration. The PANSS scores also showed significant improvement on all scales; the mean scores decreased from 20.7 +/- 6.3 points at baseline to 17.7 +/- 6.9 points at withdrawal or completion of administration on the positive scale, from 27.8 +/- 5.8 points to 24.0 +/- 7.3 points on the negative scale, and from 51.4 +/- 10.1 points to 44.7 +/- 12.4 points on the general psychopathology scale. Although the most frequent adverse reactions were somnolence (18.9%), insomnia (17.0%), nervousness (13.2%), dizziness (13.2%), malaise (13.2%), postural hypotension (11.3%), tachycardia (9.4%), and constipation (9.4%), the incidence of extrapyramidal symptoms was low (11.3%). From these results, quetiapine fumarate was suggested to be highly effective and safe for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antipsychotic Agents; Anxiety; Dibenzothiazepines; Dizziness; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Quetiapine Fumarate; Schizophrenia; Sleep Wake Disorders; Treatment Outcome

Quetiapine fumarate (Seroquel [ICI 204,636]) is an atypical dibenzothiazepine antipsychotic with a greater affinity for 5-hydroxytryptamine2 (5-HT2) receptors than for D2 dopamine receptors; its efficacy in patients with schizophrenia was shown in early phase 2 trials (maximum dose, 750 mg/d).. In this multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 286 patients hospitalized with chronic or subchronic schizophrenia (DSM-III-R) were randomized to 6 weeks of treatment with high-dose quetiapine fumarate (< or = 750 mg/d), n = 96; low-dose quetiapine fumarate (< or = 250 mg/d), n = 94; or placebo, n = 96. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Clinical Global Impression Severity of Illness item scores were the primary efficacy variables. Secondary efficacy variables included the BPRS positive-symptom cluster score, the Modified Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms summary score (United States only), and the total score from the negative scale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (Europe only). Scores were analyzed using an analysis of covariance for change from baseline at end point with last observations carried forward. The model included baseline score (covariate), center, and treatment. Extrapyramidal symptoms were assessed using the Simpson-Angus Scale and the Barnes Akathisia Scale; abnormal involuntary movements were assessed using the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale. Frequency distributions of grouped change-from-baseline scores were analyzed using chi 2 tests.. Of 280 patients in whom the efficacy of quetiapine was evaluated, 159 (42% of those receiving high-dose treatment; 57%, low-dose treatment; and 59%, placebo) withdrew before trial completion, primarily because of treatment failure. Significant (P < .001, BPRS; P = .003, Clinical Global Impression Severity of Illness item; and P = .003, BPRS positive-symptom cluster) differences were identified between patients receiving high-dose quetiapine and placebo for both primary efficacy variables, with end point differences in the BPRS positive-symptom cluster score showing quetiapine's consistency in reducing positive symptoms. The reduction of negative symptoms was less consistent; high-dose quetiapine was superior on the Modified Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms but not on the negative scale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Quetiapine was well tolerated and did not induce extrapyramidal symptoms, sustained elevations of prolactin, or clinically significant changes in hematologic parameters.. Quetiapine is an effective antipsychotic with a favorable safety profile. The optimum dose is probably greater than 250 mg/d.

Topics: Adult; Akathisia, Drug-Induced; Antipsychotic Agents; Chronic Disease; Dibenzothiazepines; Dizziness; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Double-Blind Method; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Headache; Hospitalization; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Placebos; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Quetiapine Fumarate; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Psychology; Severity of Illness Index; Sleep; Treatment Outcome