Strategies for Improving Compliance in Treatment of Schizophrenia by Using a Long-Acting Formulation of an Antipsychotic: Clinical Studies

Despite evidence showing the importance of continuous medication in preventing relapse in patientswith schizophrenia and the harmful consequences that relapse can have, clinical efforts oftenfocus on hospital-based treatment or treatment of acute exacerbations of schizophrenia rather than onensuring appropriate and effective relapse prevention. Inadequate compliance with antipsychotictreatment further deters from the goal of long-term management of schizophrenia; however, appropriateuse of injectable, long-acting antipsychotic medications—especially atypical antipsychotics—hasthe potential to increase compliance and thus improve the long-term prognosis of patients with schizophrenia.A long-acting formulation of the atypical antipsychotic risperidone has undergone large-scaleclinical testing, during which it showed significant improvement on measures of disease severitywhile maintaining an acceptable side effect profile.