Effect of amisulpride on social function and neurocognition of adolescents with schizophrenia

  Objective  To explore effect of amisulpride on social function and neurocognition of adolescents with schizophrenia.

  Methods  Forty-five outpatients or inpatients with adolescent schizophrenia were enrolled and treated with amsulfamide alone. Psychiatric symptoms, social functioning, and cognitive performance were assessed by Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), Scale of Social Function in Psychosis Inpatients (SSPI), and Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) scale before treatment and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks, respectively. Among them, 4 patients withdrew from the study due to intolerance or poor efficacy, and a total of 41 patients completed the study. According to the occurrence of disease, these patients were divided into first-episode group and recurrence group. The changes of social function, cognitive function and psychiatric symptoms were observed in the two groups, and the attention function of the first-episode group and the recurrence group was compared at different time points.

  Results  PANSS and SSPI scores of 41 patients decreased significantly after treatment, RBANS (except visual span) scores increased significantly, and the attention function scores of the first-episode patients were significantly higher than those of recurrent ones(P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  Amisulpride can significantly improve the mental symptoms, social function and cognitive performance of adolescents with schizophrenia. The prognosis of cognitive function in the first-episode patients is better than that in the recurrent patients.