Does cognitive function improve with quetiapine in comparison to haloperidol?

Velligan, Dawn.I.; Newcomer, John; Pultz, Joseph; Csernansky, John; Hoff, Anne L.; Mahurin, Roderick; Miller, Alexander.L.

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Volume 53, Issue 3 , Pages 239-248, 15 January 2002

Does cognitive function improve with quetiapine in comparison to haloperidol?

Dawn.I. Velligan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, M.S.7792, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA
- Clinical Research Unit, San Antonio State Hospital, San Antonio, TX, USA
- Corresponding author. Address: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, M.S.7792, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr., San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA. Tel.: +1-210-567-5508; fax: +1-210-567-1291
John Newcomer
- Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA
Joseph Pultz
- Parexel International, Media, PA, USA
John Csernansky
- Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA
Anne L. Hoff
- Napa State Hospital, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Roderick Mahurin
- University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Alexander.L. Miller
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, M.S.7792, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA
- Clinical Research Unit, San Antonio State Hospital, San Antonio, TX, USA

Received 15 December 1999; accepted 3 June 2001.

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that schizophrenia patients taking atypical antipsychotic medications may perform better on some tests of cognitive function than those treated with older antipsychotics. The current study compared the effects of quetiapine and haloperidol on measures of executive function, memory and attention. Subjects were 58 stable outpatients with schizophrenia (DSM III-R) who received a battery of cognitive tests as part of a randomized, double-blind, multi-site clinical efficacy study conducted by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. Cognitive assessments were conducted prior to randomization when patients were receiving ≤30mg haloperidol or equivalent (mean: 9.2mg/day haloperidol equivalents), and again after 24 weeks of fixed-dose treatment with either quetiapine 600 or 300mg/day or haloperidol 12mg/day. Analyses of covariance with planned comparisons were used to compare scores on cognitive measures at the end of 24 weeks by treatment group with baseline cognitive function scores used as covariates. Patients receiving quetiapine 600mg/day improved to a greater extent than patients receiving haloperidol on overall cognitive function (p<0.02). Specific differences were found for executive function (Verbal Fluency Test, p<0.04), attention (Stroop Color Word Test, p<.03) and verbal memory (Paragraph Recall Test, p<0.02). Treatment group differences were not solely due to benztropine use, medication side effects, or changes in symptomatology. Treatment with quetiapine at higher doses (600mg/day) relative to haloperidol appears to have a positive impact on important domains of cognitive performance that have been found to predict role function and community outcomes in patients with schizophrenia.