Schizophrenia: New depot brings hope for patients in Vienna!

Schizophrenia: New depot brings hope for patients in Vienna!

In Austria, around 90,000 people suffer from schizophrenia, a complex mental illness that often occurs in young adulthood. The symptoms range from delusions to hallucinations to fear of persecution, which strongly distorts the reality of those affected. According to the Vienna pharmaceutical company Lundbeck, the irregular use of medication can lead to considerable relapses, since many patients do not have the necessary insight into their illness and therefore often do not take their medication. Prim. Dr. Georg Psaota, chief physician of the psychosocial services in Vienna, explains that depot preparations in particular could offer a solution. "These relieve the patients because they avoid the daily decision on taking medication," he emphasizes in a report of 5min.at.

DEPOT antipsychotics enable a constant active ingredient output over a longer period of time, which improves therapy adherence. A latest therapy option is a long-effective depot antipsychotic that has been available for about a year. This innovative formulation enables rapid and stable release of the active ingredient risperidone over four weeks. Dr. Thomas Aubel from the Kliniken Essen-Mitte emphasizes that therapeutic active ingredient concentrations can be reached within just two hours after the injection without an initial oral administration. Such depot preparations could not only increase the compliance of the patient, but also significantly reduce the risk of recurrences and hospitalization, as reported in the Ärzteblatt.

advantages of depot preparations

The depot antipsychotics significantly improve the quality of life of the patients because they increase autonomy. In addition, the frequent visits to the doctor and controls of medication are eliminated. According to Dr. Simon Kurzhals are particularly advantageous for patients who switch to outpatient care after acute treatment, as they maintain drug stability. In the Prisma 3 study, there were significant improvements to the symptoms under Risperidon ISM® after just eight days. The tolerance of this new therapy option also proves to be advantageous, with less pronounced side effects than with conventional oral therapies. For many patients, this could be a decisive step towards a better quality of life.