Efficacy of paliperidone palmitate on psychiatric symptoms and attitudes toward medication in schizophrenia

Objective: To examine the efficacy of once-monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) on symptoms and attitudes toward medication in individuals with schizophrenia. Methodology: Out of 52 subjects with schizophrenia, 43 were included in the study. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the ten-item Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI) were used to collect data. With a cut-off score of 4 on the DAI, subjects were divided into two groups:adherent and non-adherent.A paired t-test was also performed for comparison between two different assessment time points. Results: During a 1-year study period with PP1M both groups showed improvement in their symptoms. The change in DAI was significant and both groups showed improvement in DAI score. Subjects with a low DAI score at baseline showed shorter treatment duration compared with subjects witha higher score at baseline. Conclusions: PP1M was effective in improving symptoms and positively changing attitudes toward medication in individuals with schizophrenia. Therefore, itmay have promising effects cation in individuals with schizophrenia.