The relative effectiveness of second-generation (atypical) antipsychotic drugs as compared with that of older agents has been incompletely addressed, though newer agents are currently used far more commonly. The investigators compared a first-generation antipsychotic, perphenazine or haloperidol, with several newer drugs in a double-blind study.
METHODS: A total of 550 patients with schizophrenia were recruited at 4 Chinese sites and randomly assigned to receive perphenazine (16 to 64 mg per day) or haloperidol(6 t0 20mg per day), olanzapine (5 to 20 mg per day), quetiapine (400 to 750 mg per day), aripiprazole (10 to 30 mg per day) or risperidone (2 to 6.0 mg per day) for up to 8 weeks.
