A long-term, multicenter, open-label study of risperidone in elderly patients with psychosis. On behalf of the Risperidone Working Group

Studies have shown that risperidone is safe and efficacious in young and middle-aged adults with chronic schizophrenia, but considerably fewer data are available on the treatment of elderly patients with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, particularly long-term outcomes. A 12-month, open-label study was conducted to assess the effects of risperidone in elderly, chronically ill, psychotic patients. This study enrolled 180 elderly, chronically ill, psychotic patients (median age, 72 years [range 54-89]), 97 of whom completed the 12-month study. At endpoint, the mean dose of risperidone was 3.7 mg/day. Clinical improvement (> or =20% reduction in Positive and Negative Syndrome Score [PANSS] total score) was achieved by 54% of patients at endpoint. There were significant reductions in PANSS total, subscale (positive, negative, and general psychopathology), and cognition cluster scores at endpoint (p