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Blonanserin May Improve Social Functioning for Individuals With First-Episode Schizophrenia
Blonanserin, a novel atypical antipsychotic marketed under the brand name Lonasen, has demonstrated efficacy for improving social functioning in individuals with first-episode schizophrenia. Results from the prospective, multicenter, single-arm clinical trial were published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.
“The current findings support the clinical use of blonanserin as a potentially valuable treatment option for individuals with first-episode schizophrenia, with the potential to improve functional outcomes and ameliorate symptoms,” said Tianqi Gap, doctoral researcher, Peking University of Mental Health, and co-authors.
The study included 96 patients with first-episode schizophrenia recruited from 9 hospitals in China. The primary outcome under investigation was social function improvement as measured through the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale. The authors also administered the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) to evaluate neurocognitive performance, as well as the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) to assess symptom severity. Secondary endpoints of the study included validate of blonanserin’s treatment efficacy and neurocognitive effects.
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Overall, 51 participants (53.1%) completed assessment at baseline and week 26. PSP scores exhibited a continuous increase up to 68.1% ± 103.7% at the end of the treatment (46.6 ± 14.6 at baseline, 69.4 ± 17.4 at week 26, p<0.001), indicating positive effects on social functioning that were already noticeable by week 8. Blonanserin also significantly improved outcome measurements on the MCBB (1.6 ± 1.1 at baseline, 1.3 ± 0.9 at week-26, p=0.007) and PANSS (85.8 ± 13.6 at baseline, 51.3 ± 15.5 at week 26).
The secondary safety assessment indicated that treatment with blonanserin was associated with mild adverse reactions (ADRs) in 83.2% of patients, including akathisia, extrapyramidal diseases, and weight gain. The risk for (ADRs) significantly decreased after 8 weeks of treatment.
“Further large-scale randomized controlled trials are required to validate these results and compare the efficacy and safety of blonanserin with other antipsychotics,” the authors wrote in the study conclusion. “Nevertheless, the current findings support the clinical use of blonanserin as a potentially valuable treatment option for individuals with first-episode schizophrenia, with the potential to improve functional outcomes and ameliorate symptoms.”
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