A study by Britain's National Health Service has shown second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), thought to be better at treating schizophrenia with fewer adverse effects, to be no more effective than less expensive first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs).
Two hundred twenty-seven people aged 18 to 65 years with DSM-IV schizophrenia and related disorders were randomly assigned to receive one of the two classes of drugs and blindly assessed for improvements in quality of life at 3, 6, and twelve months.
While researchers had hypothesized greater improvements in quality of life with SGAs, they found that FGA patients in fact showed greater improvements in quality of life and symptoms and that associated costs for the two treatments were in fact similar.