In the treatment of schizophrenia, an older 6-cent drug works as well as the new $8 one. Despite the exponential difference in cost, two commonly prescribed antipsychotic medications work equally well in treating the disorder, finds a study published this December in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A large year-long trial examined the effectiveness of the drug olanzapine, a newer medication in a class of antipsychotic drugs known as atypicals. It was compared with haloperidol, an older drug classified as a typical antipsychotic. Since haloperidol—like most typicals—generally causes troubling side effects such as tremors and twitches, the drug benztropine, was prescribed in conjunction to minimize unwanted effects.
Lead author Robert Rosenheck, a professor of psychiatry and public health at Yale University Medical School, found that both drugs were equally effective in reducing schizophrenic symptoms. Olanzapine, the newer drug, was slightly better in reducing restlessness and improving cognitive status, but the difference wasn’t large enough for participants to say they had an improved quality of life. Notably, olanzapine causes weight gain and has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes.
