Mean doses were as follows: learn more olanzapine 13.5 mg/d, risperidone 5.4 mg/d, and haloperidol 12.4 mg/d. After 6 months of treatment, improvement in EuroQol-VAS scores was significantly greater in olanzapine and risperidone-treated patients than in those receiving haloperidol. Gureje et al25 conducted a multicenter, 30-week, doubleblind study comparing the efficacy, safety, use of health care resources, level of functioning, and quality of life between olanzapine and risperidone. Sixty-five patients, either inpatients or outpatients, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizophreniform

disorder (DSM-IV criteria42) and scores on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) greater than 36 were randomized to receive Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical olanzapine 10 to 20 mg/day (n=32) or risperidone 4 to 8 mg/day (n=33). Quality of life was assessed using the QLS35 and

the SF-36.45 A total of 29 patients (17 in the olanzapine group and 12 in the risperidone group) completed the study At the end of the 30 weeks, olanzapinetreated patients had statistically significant greater Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical improvement compared with the risperidone-treated patients in the QLS intrapsychic foundation subscale and in the SF-36 Role Emotional subscale. The olanzapinetreated group reported statistically significant improvement from baseline to end point in QLS total score, in all QLS subscales except the instrumental role, and in all SF36 scales but the role physical. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical For the risperidone-treated group statistically significant improvement was only achieved for the SF-36 bodily pain scale. Ritchie et al26 compared the impact on quality of life of a switch from conventional antipsychotics to risperidone or olanzapine in 66 elderly patients with schizophrenia Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical (mean age 69.6 years). Quality of life was measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life [Brief] scale (WHOQOL-BREF).49 Olanzapine-treated patients significantly improved from baseline in the WHOQOL-BREF physical, psychological, and health satisfaction domains, whereas Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical risperidone-treated patients did not

show significant improvements in any quality of life domain. Treatment with olanzapine was associated with a better response over risperidone on the psychological domain of the WHOQOL-BREF. The impact of switching from conventional to novel antipsychotic drugs on quality of life was also studied by Voruganti et al.27 One hundred and fifty schizophrenic Ketanserin or schizoaffective patients (DSM-IV42) considered suitable for a switch, based on inadequate control of symptoms, subjective reports of side effects, or clinicians’ concerns about the risk for adverse effects, were consecutively switched to risperidone (50 patients), olanzapine (50), and quetiapine (50). Patients were followed up for a period between 2 and 6 years. Quality of life was assessed by means of the QLS35 and the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP)modified version.