Adjunctive varenicline treatment with antipsychotic medications for cognitive impairments in people with schizophrenia: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to examine the effects of treatment with varenicline, a partial agonist at the α4β2 and full agonist at the α7 nicotine acetylcholine receptor, on cognitive impairments in people with schizophrenia. In all, 120 clinically stable people with schizophrenia participated in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 8-week trial. Antipsychotic and concomitant medication doses remained fixed throughout the study. Varenicline was titrated up to 1 mg twice daily for weeks 2-8. Neuropsychological, clinical, and safety assessments were administered at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, and 8. In the primary analyses of neurocognitive differences at week 8, no varenicline-placebo differences were significant. In secondary longitudinal analyses, varenicline improved compared with

SUBMITTER: Shim JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3260973 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature