Amisulpride: a review of its efficacy in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy of the new atypical antipsychotic drug, amisulpride.

METHOD: Studies comparing the efficacy of amisulpride with that of haloperidol and risperidone, respectively, are reviewed. Outcome measures were Clinical Global Impression, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and Positive And Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) scores.

RESULTS

Amisulpride was at least as effective as haloperidol and risperidone in the improvement of positive symptoms, and significantly more efficacious than haloperidol in reducing PANSS negative subscores (P=0.038) in patients with acute exacerbations. Amisulpride demonstrated a greater improvement in BPRS total scores (P<0.05) and PANSS negative subscores (P=0.0001) than haloperidol after 12 months of treatment in chronic schizophrenic patients with acute exacerbations.

CONCLUSION

Amisulpride can thus be considered for use as first-line treatment of acute and chronic schizophrenia.