come to that conclusion is that this is just one study,” says Dr. Robert Rosenheck, the leader of the new research and the director of the VA’s Northeast Program Evaluation Center in West Haven, Conn.
If that’s the case, Rosenheck says, use of the more expensive drug might be justified. However, only longer studies will tease out that benefit.
Marni Lemon, a spokeswoman for Eli Lilly and Co., which sells the drug as Zyprexa, says the company is “supportive of this type of research.” And while her company, in fact, funded the study, she adds, “It’s important to note that it is only one study, with significant limitations.”
The patients in the study were “very ill,” Lemon says, noting they had the disease for an average of 22 years.
“These are people who have been sick for a long, long time, and are very difficult to treat,” she says.
She also says that the cognitive improvement and