"A COMPARITIVE STUDY ON NEUROCOGNITIVE EFFECTS OF TYPICAL AND ATYPICAL ANTIPSYCHOTICS AMONG PATIENTS IN REFERENCE TO SCHIZOPHRENIA"

AIM: To compare the Neurocognitive effects of typical and atypical antipsychotics among schizophrenic patients. PURPOSE: Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that is characterized by hallucinations, delusions and other cognitive difficulties; it can often be a lifelong struggle. Although it can be treated very effectively, acute aggravations often occur. Antipsychotic drug therapies are fairly effective for decreasing the rate of relapses and neurocognitive difficulties in patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to compare the typical and atypical antipsychotics used to treat patients with schizophrenia in terms of neurocognitive effects and Quality of life. METHODS: A cross-sectional comparative study is proposed to be conducted in 6 months. All the patients were administered the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, to evaluate cognitive function by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Short Form 36, and the Schedule for Assessing the Neurocognition (Attention, Memory, and Intelligence). SETTING: The study was conducted in the government general hospital, Guntur; an 1170 bedded tertiary care teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 75patients who were taking typical antipsychotics and 75 patients taking atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia. RESULTS: The medication adherence was similar in both groups of patients and perceived scores of the patients treated with atypical antipsychotics were significantly higher than those of the patients treated with typical antipsychotics in terms of neurocognition and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Neurocognitive dysfunction is a core feature of schizophrenia and is related to the functional outcome of the illness. In our study, it reveals that atypical antipsychotics therapy was associated with more favourable results of neurocognition and quality of life compared with typical antipsychotics. So Finally, Our study concluded that Patients of Schizophrenia who are taking atypical antipsychotics showed positive results than typical antipsychotics in terms of Neurocognition and Overall patients Quality of Life.