Varenicline prevents affective and cognitive exacerbation during smoking abstinence in male patients with schizophrenia

To explore the effects of varenicline on the psychopathology and cognition of chronic inpatients with schizophrenia, we conducted a non-randomized control group time series investigation between March 2009 and April 2010. In a mandatory smoking cessation intervention, 41 male inpatient smokers were scheduled to undergo either a 5-week varenicline treatment (varenicline group) or the use of no drugs (non-treatment group). Depression (HAM-D), anxiety (HAM-A), and psychosis (PANSS) were evaluated at baseline, and at the 2nd, 4th, 8th and 12th week after abstinence; four neuropsychological tests, including Digit Span Forward and Backward (DSF and DSB), and Trail Making Test-A and -B, were evaluated at baseline and at the 4th, 8th and 12th week. .Thirty patients completed the study. Among 15 patients in the non-treatment group, the HAM-D, HAM-A, DSF, and DSB scores were exacerbated during the 2-8 weeks of abstinence, but there were no changes in psychotic symptoms and the other two neuropsychological tests. Compared with the non-treatment group, varenicline users experienced less impairment in HAM-D and HAM-A scores at the 2nd and 4th weeks, and in DSF tasks at the 4th week after abstinence. In conclusions, varenicline can attenuate abstinence-induced adverse outcomes and appears to be well-tolerated in smokers with schizophrenia.