Long-term remission of schizophrenia in an adolescent treated with quetiapine

The novel antipsychotic quetiapine has recently been reported to be a safe and effective treatment for adolescent psychosis in an open trial. However, there are currently no published data on its long-term tolerability and effectiveness. This report describes the successful long-term treatment of a 14-year-old girl diagnosed with schizophrenia. Continued improvement in positive symptoms was evident as long as 8 months into the treatment, and negative symptoms were still improving at 18 months. At 28 months of treatment, there were no apparent adverse effects. Long-term follow-up studies are needed to determine if the findings in this case can be generalized.