Results in the New England Journal of Medicine from a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study compared the use of atypical antipsychotic medications, including Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate), and a first generation antipsychotic medication for the treatment of schizophrenia.

The study, titled Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness-Schizophrenia (CATIE-SZ), was a randomized, controlled study of 1493 patients with schizophrenia, and was designed to reflect a clinical setting in order to generate results that would inform clinical practice. The findings represent the first of many anticipated study reports of this multi-phase study.

According to an AstraZeneca release, the company appreciates the value CATIE-SZ adds to the body of evidence evaluating antipsychotic medication in schizophrenia. The study points to the importance of considering the risk-benefit balance in the choice of an antipsychotic. The balance of efficacy and tolerability that Seroquel provides makes it an ideal choice for the first line treatment of schizophrenia.

A key finding of CATIE-SZ was the high discontinuation rate (74 per cent) observed among study patients, which highlights the complexities in treating individuals with schizophrenia. The most common reason for discontinuation was the patient's independent decision to stop treatment. These findings support the importance of patient-physician communication in maximizing treatment success, said the release.

This first phase of CATIE-SZ results also suggest that dose is a critical component of successful treatment. Patients suffering from schizophrenia are unique and respond to different drugs in different ways. This underscores the need to explore the full, approved dose range of medications such as SEROQUEL to achieve optimal benefit, and for multiple treatment options to be available.

Seroquel is the leading prescribed atypical in the US and has a well-established safety and efficacy profile. It is the only first line atypical with an extrapyramidal symptom (EPS) profile, including akathisia, and levels of prolactin that are no different from placebo across the dose range.

Seroquel has been licensed for the treatment of schizophrenia since 1997 and is available in 85 countries for the treatment of this condition. Seroquel is also licensed in 73 countries for the treatment of mania associated with bipolar disorder, including the US, Canada and several European countries. To date, more than 13 million people have been treated with Seroquel worldwide, added the release.