Schizophrenia requires new antipsychotic that can relieve suffering and improve the prognosis of schizophrenic patients.

To study efficacy and safety of Ariprazole in patients with acute schizophrenia.

We studied 16 patients with acute episode of schizophrenia, 6 were first episodes and 10 acute reactivations. We used ARIPRAZOLE for 6 months to evaluate its effectiveness and tolerance. All patients were hospitalised and received Ariprazole in progressively larger doses, beginning with 10 mg/day and increasing to 30 mg at 10 days. Evaluation measures were PANSS, initial and 6 months, and CGI, initial (severity) and 6 months (evolution-improvement). Side effects were evaluated.

Mean PANSS in first episodes: 85 at onset and 36 at 6 months; in reactivations: 75 at onset and 32 at 6 months. ICG showed a mean severity of 4.6 in the first episodes and 4.2 in reactivations; at 6 months the mean improvement was 2.3 in the first episodes and 2.3 in reactivations. The transitory side effects were found, which did not require discontinuation of the drug: insomnia in 15% of first episodes and in 22% of reactivations; nausea in 16% vs. 22%; a certain disinhibition (not manic) in 83% of first episodes and in 77% of reactivations.

ARIPRAZOLE is an effective antipsychotic in the first and successive episodes of schizophrenia. It improved insight and the subjective feeling of well-being and made the psychotic condition easier to bear. This definitely made it a drug of first choice for acute or reactivated schizophrenia.