Atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of early-onset schizophrenia

Abstract

Michal Hrdlicka, Iva Dudova Department of Child Psychiatry, Charles University Second Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Motol, Prague, Czech Republic Abstract: Atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) have been successfully used in early-onset schizophrenia (EOS). This review summarizes the randomized, double-blind, controlled studies of AAPs in EOS, including clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, aripiprazole, paliperidone, quetiapine, and ziprasidone. No significant differences in efficacy between AAPs were found, with the exception of clozapine and ziprasidone. Clozapine demonstrated superior efficacy in treatment-resistant patients with EOS, whereas ziprasidone failed to demonstrate efficacy in the treatment of EOS. Our review also focuses on the onset of action and weight gain associated with AAPs. The data on onset of action of AAPs in pediatric psychiatry are scanty and inconsistent. Olanzapine appears to cause the most significant weight gain in patients with EOS, while ziprasidone and aripiprazole seem to cause the least. Keywords: early-onset schizophrenia, atypical antipsychotics, efficacy, onset of action, weight gain