Escitalopram in the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with chronic schizophrenia: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Antidepressant medication treatment has been associated with improvement in negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of escitalopram for the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Under double-blind conditions, 40 patients with chronic schizophrenia were randomized to add-on treatment with escitalopram (up to 20mg) or placebo for 10weeks.