Impact of risperidone versus haloperidol on activities of daily living in the treatment of refractory schizophrenia.

Risperidone has been shown to improve verbal working memory, executive functioning, attention, reaction time, and verbal learning, which, in turn, have been associated with improved functional outcomes. We tested whether risperidone was associated with greater improvements than haloperidol in activities of daily living (ADLs) among persons having treatment-refractory schizophrenia. In a double-blind, controlled trial of fixed and flexible doses of haloperidol and risperidone, changes in ADLs were operationally monitored on a behavior therapy unit of a state hospital.