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Cognitive Efficacy of Quetiapine in Early-Onset First-Episode Psychosis: A 12-Week Open Label Trial

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Abstract

Twenty-three adolescents with psychotic disorders, aged from 13 to 18 years, participated in a 12-week open label trial (17 adolescents completed the study) in order to examine the impact of quetiapine on clinical status and cognitive functions (encompassing processing speed, attention, short-term memory, long-term memory and executive function). An improvement in Clinical Global Impression and Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (P’s ≤ 0.001) was observed. In addition, after controlling for amelioration of symptoms, a significant improvement was observed on one executive function (P = 0.044; Trail Making Part B). The remaining cognitive abilities showed stability. In addition, we observed an interaction between quetiapine doses (>300 mg/day or <300 mg/day) and time, where lower doses showed more improvement in verbal short-term memory (P = 0.048), inhibition abilities (P = 0.038) and positive symptoms (P = 0.020). The neuropsychological functioning of adolescents with psychotic disorders remained mainly stable after 12 weeks of treatment with quetiapine. However, lower doses seemed to have a better impact on two components of cognition (inhibition abilities and verbal short-term memory) and on positive symptoms.

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Acknowledgment

This study was financially supported by AstraZeneca, Switzerland, by an unrestricted grant.

Conflict of interest

PB and UP have received honoraries or sponsorships from almost all pharmaceutical companies in Switzerland selling psychotropic drugs. In particular, they received honoraries from the manufacturer of quetiapine (AstraZeneca). Others authors reported no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de Recherche, Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l’Enfant et de l’Adolescent (SUPEA), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Route du Bugnon 25A, 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Sébastien Urben

  2. Département de Psychiatrie, CHUV, Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland

    Pierre Baumann

  3. Centre Thérapeutique de Jour pour Adolescents, SUPEA, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Sandra Barcellona, Muriel Hafil & Laurent Holzer

  4. Division de Neuropsychologie, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Claire Peter-Favre & Stéphanie Clarke

  5. SUPEA, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Olivier Halfon

  6. Kinder und Jugendpsychiatrische Poliklinik, Bern, Switzerland

    Ulrich Preuss

  7. Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Brandenburg, Germany

    Ulrich Preuss

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  1. Sébastien Urben
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  2. Pierre Baumann
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  3. Sandra Barcellona
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  4. Muriel Hafil
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  9. Laurent Holzer
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Correspondence to Sébastien Urben.

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Urben, S., Baumann, P., Barcellona, S. et al. Cognitive Efficacy of Quetiapine in Early-Onset First-Episode Psychosis: A 12-Week Open Label Trial. Psychiatr Q 83, 311–324 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-011-9201-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-011-9201-3

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