Efficacy of Quetiapine in the Treatment of Patients With Schizophrenia and a Comorbid Substance Use Disorder - Study Results

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Allocation: Non-Randomized; Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study; Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment; Masking: Open Label
Conditions:	Schizophrenia Schizoaffective Disorder Psychotic Disorder Substance Abuse Alcohol Abuse
Intervention:	Drug: Quetiapine

Participant Flow

Recruitment Details

Key information relevant to the recruitment process for the overall study, such as dates of the recruitment period and locations
Participants were recruited from two urban study sites, one in New England, the other in the Southeast, primarily through clinician referral, over two years. All participants gave informed consent.

Pre-Assignment Details

Significant events and approaches for the overall study following participant enrollment, but prior to group assignment
Prior to starting quetiapine, all participants first completed a screening assessment to establish diagnosis, amount of alcohol (and other drugs) consumed, and current medications and medical status. This data was used to characterize the group and assess whether they met eligibility criteria for the study.

Reporting Groups

	Description
QUET	After patients provided informed consent and completed baseline measures, quetiapine was initiated in all participants and titrated up to a target dose of 600 mg (in divided daily doses) over two weeks as the previous antipsychotic medication was slowly tapered and discontinued. Participants met with study physicians weekly to assess tolerability and response to the medication. Concomitant medications were held constant. After the initial titration period, quetiapine was dosed in a flexible manner up to 800 mg /day, with dose adjustments based on symptomatic response and side effects.

Description

QUET

After patients provided informed consent and completed baseline measures, quetiapine was initiated in all participants and titrated up to a target dose of 600 mg (in divided daily doses) over two weeks as the previous antipsychotic medication was slowly tapered and discontinued. Participants met with study physicians weekly to assess tolerability and response to the medication. Concomitant medications were held constant. After the initial titration period, quetiapine was dosed in a flexible manner up to 800 mg /day, with dose adjustments based on symptomatic response and side effects.

Participant Flow: Overall Study

	QUET
STARTED	23
COMPLETED	16
NOT COMPLETED	7

Baseline Characteristics

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Reporting Groups

	Description
QUET	After patients provided informed consent and completed baseline measures, quetiapine was initiated in all participants and titrated up to a target dose of 600 mg (in divided daily doses) over two weeks as the previous antipsychotic medication was slowly tapered and discontinued. Participants met with study physicians weekly to assess tolerability and response to the medication. Concomitant medications were held constant. After the initial titration period, quetiapine was dosed in a flexible manner up to 800 mg /day, with dose adjustments based on symptomatic response and side effects.

Description

QUET

After patients provided informed consent and completed baseline measures, quetiapine was initiated in all participants and titrated up to a target dose of 600 mg (in divided daily doses) over two weeks as the previous antipsychotic medication was slowly tapered and discontinued. Participants met with study physicians weekly to assess tolerability and response to the medication. Concomitant medications were held constant. After the initial titration period, quetiapine was dosed in a flexible manner up to 800 mg /day, with dose adjustments based on symptomatic response and side effects.

Baseline Measures

	QUET
Number of Participants [units: participants]	23
Age [units: participants]
<=18 years	0
Between 18 and 65 years	23
>=65 years	0
Age [units: years] Mean ± Standard Deviation	35.8 ± 9.9
Gender [units: participants]
Female	6
Male	17
Region of Enrollment [units: participants]
United States	23

Outcome Measures

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1. Primary:

Mean Number of Drinking Days Per Week [ Time Frame: 12 Weeks ]

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2. Secondary:

Clinical Symptoms [ Time Frame: 12 Weeks ]

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Serious Adverse Events

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Other Adverse Events

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More Information

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Certain Agreements:

All Principal Investigators ARE employed by the organization sponsoring the study.

Limitations and Caveats

Limitations of the study, such as early termination leading to small numbers of participants analyzed and technical problems with measurement leading to unreliable or uninterpretable data
Lack of a control group; Small study group size, and the consequent lack of power to detect a significant change; Differences between the populations at the two sites.

Results Point of Contact:

Name/Title: Christopher OKeefe, M.A
Organization: Dartmouth Medical School
phone: 603-271-5287
e-mail: chris.okeefe@hitchcock.org

Publications:

Albanese MJ, Khantzian EJ, Murphy SL, Green AI. Decreased substance use in chronically psychotic patients treated with clozapine. Am J Psychiatry. 1994 May;151(5):780-1. No abstract available.

Bartels SJ, Teague GB, Drake RE, Clark RE, Bush PW, Noordsy DL. Substance abuse in schizophrenia: service utilization and costs. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1993 Apr;181(4):227-32.

Bowers MB Jr, Mazure CM, Nelson JC, Jatlow PI. Psychotogenic drug use and neuroleptic response. Schizophr Bull. 1990;16(1):81-5.

Brown ES, Nejtek VA, Perantie DC, Rajan Thomas N, Rush AJ. Cocaine and amphetamine use in patients with psychiatric illness: a randomized trial of typical antipsychotic continuation or discontinuation. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2003 Aug;23(4):384-8.

Buckley PF, Naber D: Quetiapine and sertindole: clinical use and experience. In: Schizophrenia and Mood Disorders: The New Drug Therapies in Clinical Practice. Edited by PF Buckley and JL Waddington. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000.

Buckley P, Thompson PA, Way L, Meltzer HY. Substance abuse and clozapine treatment. J Clin Psychiatry. 1994 Sep;55 Suppl B:114-6.

Buckley PF. Novel antipsychotic medications and the treatment of comorbid substance abuse in schizophrenia. J Subst Abuse Treat. 1998 Mar-Apr;15(2):113-6.

Buckley PF. Substance abuse in schizophrenia: a review. J Clin Psychiatry. 1998;59 Suppl 3:26-30. Review.

Buckley PF, Miller A, Chiles JA, Sajatovic M. Implementing effectiveness research and improving care for schizophrenia in real-world settings. Am J Manag Care. 1999 Jun 25;5 Spec No:SP47-56.

Buckley P, McCarthy M, Chapman P, Richman C, Yamamoto B. Clozapine treatment of comorbid substance abuse in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 1999; 36: 272.

Carey KB, Cocco KM, Simons JS. Concurrent validity of clinicians' ratings of substance abuse among psychiatric outpatients. Psychiatr Serv. 1996 Aug;47(8):842-7.

Conley R, Gale E, Hirsch K. Olanzapine response in therapy-refractory schizophrenia with substance abuse (SA) [abstract]. Schizophr Res 1997; 24: 190.

Drake RE, Osher FC, Noordsy DL, Hurlbut SC, Teague GB, Beaudett MS. Diagnosis of alcohol use disorders in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 1990;16(1):57-67.

Drake RE, Xie H, McHugo GJ, Green AI. The effects of clozapine on alcohol and drug use disorders among patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2000;26(2):441-9.

Green AI, Alam MY, Sobieraj JT, Pappalardo KM, Waternaux C, Salzman C, Schatzberg AF, Schildkraut JJ. Clozapine response and plasma catecholamines and their metabolites. Psychiatry Res. 1993 Feb;46(2):139-49. Review.

Green AI, Alam MY, Boshes RA, Waternaux C, Pappalardo KM, Fitzgibbon ME, Tsuang MT, Schildkraut JJ. Haloperidol response and plasma catecholamines and their metabolites. Schizophr Res. 1993 Jun;10(1):33-7.

Green AI, Zimmet SV, Strous RD, Schildkraut JJ. Clozapine for comorbid substance use disorder and schizophrenia: do patients with schizophrenia have a reward-deficiency syndrome that can be ameliorated by clozapine? Harv Rev Psychiatry. 1999 Mar-Apr;6(6):287-96. Review.

Heinrichs DW, Hanlon TE, Carpenter WT Jr. The Quality of Life Scale: an instrument for rating the schizophrenic deficit syndrome. Schizophr Bull. 1984;10(3):388-98.

Khantzian EJ. The self-medication hypothesis of addictive disorders: focus on heroin and cocaine dependence. Am J Psychiatry. 1985 Nov;142(11):1259-64. Review.

Khantzian EJ. The self-medication hypothesis of substance use disorders: a reconsideration and recent applications. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 1997 Jan-Feb;4(5):231-44. Review.

Meats P. Quetiapine (seroquel): an effective and well-tolerated atypical antipsychotic. Intl J Psychiatry Clin Prac 1997; 1(4): 231-239.

Siris SG. Pharmacological treatment of substance-abusing schizophrenic patients. Schizophr Bull. 1990;16(1):111-22. Review.

Small JG, Hirsch SR, Arvanitis LA, Miller BG, Link CG. Quetiapine in patients with schizophrenia. A high- and low-dose double-blind comparison with placebo. Seroquel Study Group. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1997 Jun;54(6):549-57.

Zimmet SV, Strous RD, Burgess ES, Kohnstamm S, Green AI. Effects of clozapine on substance use in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: a retrospective survey. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2000 Feb;20(1):94-8.

Arvanitis LA, Miller BG. Multiple fixed doses of "Seroquel" (quetiapine) in patients with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia: a comparison with haloperidol and placebo. The Seroquel Trial 13 Study Group. Biol Psychiatry. 1997 Aug 15;42(4):233-46.

Weiden PJ. Quetiapine ('seroquel'): a new 'atypical' antipsychotic. J Prac Psychiatry and Behav Health 1997; 3(6): 368-374.

Responsible Party:	Alan I. Green, M.D., Dartmouth Medical School
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00156715 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	16563, IRUSQUET0063
Study First Received:	September 6, 2005
Results First Received:	November 19, 2010
Last Updated:	December 30, 2010
Health Authority:	United States: Institutional Review Board