AstraZeneca today announced new data from the 17th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) meeting in Stockholm, Sweden which show that SEROQUELTM (quetiapine) improves patients’ quality of life and that 8 out of 10 patients are satisfied with it as a treatment.1 The results demonstrate that SEROQUEL is effective, well-tolerated and could potentially increase patient compliance – due to the high level of patient satisfaction seen in this and other studies.1,2,3 Approximately 50% of patients with schizophrenia do not fully adhere to their treatment which can lead to relapse, rehospitalisation, poor outcome and high socioeconomic costs.4,5 A patient’s own experience with a treatment can have a major impact on their levels of compliance and consequently the treatment outcome.6,7 Furthermore, research has shown that patients who experience good tolerability and an improvement in their wellbeing are more likely to adhere to treatment.8 These results were based on an 8-week, open label, observational trial including 802 patients the majority of whom had schizophrenia and related psychoses. Patients with schizophrenia received a mean dose of SEROQUEL 405mg/day (±267). The results of the study show:1
