Interview: Long-acting Injectable Medications Reduce Relapse and Rehospitalizations in Schizophrenia

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> MedicalResearch.com: What are the limitations of existing analyses of the comparative effectiveness of antipsychotics?

Response: It has remained unclear if there are clinically meaningful differences between antipsychotic treatments in relapse prevention of schizophrenia, due to the impossibility of including large unselected patient populations in randomized controlled trials, and due to residual confounding from selection biases in observational studies.

> MedicalResearch.com: In very broad terms, what did you find?

Response: Clozapine and long-acting injectables (LAIs) are the most effective pharmacological treatments for relapse prevention in schizophrenia, and the risk of re-hospitalization is about 20–30% lower during LAI treatments compared with equivalent orals.

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That’s all fine and wonderful. What bothers me is that the pharmaceutical companies have appeared to quit looking for new meds in exchange for injectable versions of old drugs. I also am concerned that the higher prices will force more schizophrenics to go on disability or public assistance.

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