ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of risperidone combined with olanzapine in the treatment of first-episode schizophrenia and its effects on serum homocysteine level and cognitive function.Methods:Sixty patients with first-episode schizophrenia who received treatment in Yiwu Mental Health Center from May 2017 to May 2018 were included in this study. They were randomly assigned to receive either olanzapine (control group, n = 30) or olanzapine and risperidone (observation group, n = 30) treatment. All patients received 4 weeks of treatment. We compared serum homocysteine level, cognitive function, and clinical efficacy between the two groups. Results:There was no significant difference in serum homocysteine level pre-treatment between the two groups ( P > 0.05). Serum homocysteine level post-treatment was significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group [(13.59 ± 2.61) mmol/L vs. (15.83 ± 2.58) mmol/L, t = 3.34, P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the scores of each cognitive function item pre-treatment between the two groups (all P > 0.05). The scores of each cognitive function item post-treatment in the observation group was (15.06 ± 2.28) points, (21.18 ± 3.26) points, (44.39 ± 4.42) points, (40.63 ± 6.27) points, which were significantly superior to those in the control group [(13.31 ± 2.04) points, (19.26 ± 3.07) points, (42.43 ± 2.07) points, (44.19 ± 5.86) points, t = 3.13, 2.34, 2.12, 2.27, all P < 0.05]. The total improvement rate was significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group [93.33% (28/30) vs. 70.00% (21/30), χ2 = 5.45, P < 0.05). Conclusion:Risperidone combined with olanzapine is highly effective on first-episode schizophrenia. The combined therapy can reduce serum homocysteine level and improve cognitive function.