NAMI analyzes new schizophrenia study; calls for more research.(National Alliance on Mental Illness)(Clinical report)

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has called for more comprehensive studies on mental illness research and the need for improved medications following the release last week of a British study questioning the relative effectiveness of newer antispychotic medications in schizophrenia treatment.

The study, "Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effect on Quality of Life of Second-vs. First-Generation Antipsychotic Drugs in Schizophrenia," was published in the October issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

The British-funded study, which included an economic component that was referred to as the Cost Utility of the Latest Antipsychotic Drugs in Schizophrenia Study (CUtLASS 1), involved 227 schizophrenia patients ages 18 to 65 with DSM-IV schizophrenia and related disorders who were assessed for medication review because of inadequate response or adverse effects.

Researchers say the objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that in people with schizophrenia requiring a change in treatment, second-generation (atypical) antipsychotics (SGAs) …