Anna Liachenko, BSc, MSc
Managing Editor,
Geriatrics & Aging

Due to a favourable side effect profile and high efficacy when compared with typical antipsychotics, atypical drugs are becoming increasingly recommended as first-line treatments for agitation and psychosis related to schizophrenia, manic depression, and behavioural disturbances associated with dementia. At the recent XXII International Congress of Neuro- psychopharmacology (CINP) in Brussels, a new study evaluating an intramuscular (IM) form of Olanzapine (Zyprexa) was presented. An IM form of antipsychotics can be crucial for the rapid control of a patient's psychotic symptoms in an emergency setting. This is the first time that an atypical antipsychotic is available in IM form. The study has just been completed and will be published shortly. Dr. Karena Meehan, M.D., clinical research physician for Eli Lilly and Company and the lead physician for the IM project with responsibility for the Canadian and American groups, agreed to answer a few questions about recent studies on Olanzapine and the use of this drug in the elderly.

Q: Your group has recently presented data comparing the effect of a new IM-formulation of the antipsychotic olanzapine with IM-haloperidol. What were the objectives and the results of your study?

A: The study was designed to compare olanzapine with an older typical antipsychotic.