Effectiveness of long-term aripiprazole therapy in patients with acutely relapsing or chronic, stable schizophrenia: a 52-week, open-label comparison with olanzapine.

Objective: To compare the long-term efficacy and safety of aripiprazole with olanzapine in patients with either acute relapsing or chronic, stable schizophrenia.

Materials And Methods: A 52-week, open-label extension to a 26-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Patients who completed the initial treatment or who met the protocol definition of relapse after > or =2 weeks of double-blind treatment were randomized to aripiprazole (15-30 mg/day, n = 104) or olanzapine (10-20 mg/day, n = 110) for 52 weeks.