Efficacy of paliperidone palmitate in the treatment of schizophrenia and its effect on psychosocial and occupational functioning in patients: 2 Case studies

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a chronic recurrent illness with positive, negative and cognitive symptoms, which can lead to severe impairment of psychosocial and occupational functioning. Antipsychotic medications have been available for decades in both oral (PO) and long-acting injectable (LAI) formulations, with demonstrated efficacy in treating positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Most antipsychotic medications, however, have only limited success in improving psychosocial and occupational functioning for patients. Paliperidone palmitate (PP) LAI has been available for the treatment of schizophrenia in Canada since 2010[1] and has shown some promising results in improving psychosocial and occupational functioning. In this article we examine the role of patient adherence to antipsychotic medication, the resulting effect on relapse, and the socioeconomic impact of schizophrenia. We also present 2 case studies where two adult female patients diagnosed with schizophrenia are examined in the context of economic, functional, cognitive and psychosocial outcomes, before and after treatment with PP LAI. Both patients and caregivers demonstrated an improvement in their quality of life over a relatively short period of time. This paper indicates that PP LAI has had great impact on patients’ quality of life and further studies should be conducted to verify its effectiveness.