Efficacy and Safety Study of Escitalopram Augmentation in Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia

The objective of this trial is to determine the efficacy and safety of augmenting risperidone or olanzapine with escitalopram for treatment of symptoms of schizophrenia in patients with incomplete response to adequate trials of either of the two antipsychotic medications. To our knowledge, this is the first double blind randomized study designed to examine the potential augmentation benefit of escitalopram combined with a commonly used atypical agent in chronic schizophrenic patients with incomplete response to risperidone or olanzapine. The current proposal offers the possibility to test the efficacy of augmentation treatment in a controlled fashion with clinical and biological variables used as indicators of response and tolerability. From a broader perspective, it would test the hypothesis of potential validity of SSRI augmentation strategy in treatment of resistant symptoms of schizophrenia.