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Effects of Add-on Ramelteon on Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Schizophrenia: An Open-label Pilot Trial
Yukihiko Shirayama1, Michio Takahashi1, Masatoshi Suzuki1
1Department of Psychiatry, Teikyo University Chiba Medical Center, Ichihara, Japan.
Objective:
This open-label study examined the effects of ramelteon on cognitive functions in 10 outpatients with schizophrenia.
Methods:
Ramelteon (8 mg/day) was administered to 10 patients with schizophrenia for six months. The verbal fluency test, Trail-Making Test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Stroop Test, the Digit Span Distraction Test, Iowa Gambling Task, the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test were evaluated at baseline and 6 months after treatment with ramelteon.
Results:
Ramelteon improved significantly the scores of Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Additionally, ramelteon exerted improvements in the verbal fluency and Iowa Gambling Task in 4 patients.
Conclusion:
Ramelteon could be a potential therapeutic drug, in adjunctive treatment of learning and memory deficits seen in patients with schizophrenia.
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