Antipsychotic Induced Structural and Functional Brain Changes
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2020-08-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Continuation of antipsychotic drug treatment for at least 12 months after remission of the
first psychotic episode represents the gold clinical standard, and it is recommended by all
international treatment guidelines. Numerous studies have shown that the risk of relapse is
significantly increased, if drug treatment is terminated prematurely. However, only a
minority of patients achieve functional remission, even if they fully comply with treatment.
Long-term adverse effects of the currently available drugs, specifically brain grey matter
loss and development of supersensitivity psychosis, might outweigh their benefits. Thus, the
current standard of long-term maintenance antipsychotic treatment, which has the primary goal
of relapse prevention, has to be questioned. Here the investigators hypothesize that
intermittent treatment (experimental) with antipsychotics, which is directed exclusively
against the positive symptoms of Schizophrenia, is associated with less loss in total grey
matter volume than maintenance treatment (control). Furthermore, the investigators
hypothesise that this targeted treatment approach is associated with better functional
outcome (fewer negative symptoms, better cognitive performance, better quality of life) than
continuous antipsychotic treatment,although the latter is initially associated with fewer
relapses.The aim of the present study is to compare two different drug therapies -maintenance
therapy versus on-demand, intermittent therapy- in terms of their treatment's success and the
structural changes in the brain.