New Study Showed Efficacy was Most Important Factor in Decision to Stay on Antipsychotic Treatment for Schizophrenia Findings also showed patients taking olanzapine stayed on treatment longer than other antipsychotics ATLANTA, May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- People taking atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia were most likely to discontinue therapy due to continued presence of psychiatric symptoms, according to data presented today at the 158th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Findings also revealed that patients taking olanzapine were significantly more likely to remain on medication longer than patients taking other atypical and conventional antipsychotics. "Schizophrenia is a chronic disease that requires lifelong therapy. Finding a medication to which patients will adhere is essential," said Michael Stevens, M.D., director of Psychopharmacology Research at Valley Mental Health in Salt Lake City, Utah. "These data demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia were more likely to stay on medication longer with olanzapine compared to other antipsychotics." Almost 60 percent of people with schizophrenia do not take their medications as prescribed by their physicians.(1) According to the APA's guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia, 60 to 70 percent of patients relapse within one year without maintenance treatment and almost 90 percent relapse within two years.(2) Key Findings In the study, "Differential Rates of Treatment Discontinuation in Clinical Trials as a Measure of Treatment Effectiveness of Atypical Antipsychotics," researchers reviewed treatment discontinuation rates and reasons for discontinuation from four 24 to 28 week randomized, double-blind clinical trials involving 1627 patients with schizophrenia taking widely prescribed atypical antipsychotics (olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine and ziprasidone). The study compared discontinuation rates and the probability of staying on medication for patients taking olanzapine against patients taking the other atypicals. According to the study: * Olanzapine-treated patients (n=822) were significantly more likely to stay on medication longer (19.1 vs. 16.1 weeks, p.