According to this study:

* Treatment with paliperidone has been associated with significant improvement in the symptoms of schizophrenia and in social and personal functioning.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved paliperidone (Invega extended-release tablets) for the treatment of schizophrenia. The drug is the primary active metabolite of risperidone, an atypical antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia, a chronic and disabling psychiatric disorder necessitating lifelong drug therapy for symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disordered thinking, movement disorders, social withdrawal, and cognitive deficits. The atypical antipsychotics differ from the typical ones in that they affect only specific dopamine receptors and treat both the adverse symptoms of schizophrenia and the impairment in personal and social functioning associated with the disorder.

In 1,665 adults participating in three six-week, placebo-controlled trials conducted in North America, Asia, and Europe, the use of the drug at recommended daily doses of 3 mg to 12 mg was found to be superior to placebo in the relief of symptoms of schizophrenia. Some adverse effects, such as extrapyramidal symptoms, restlessness, sleepiness, and tachycardia, were reported. Compared with placebo, atypical antipsychotics have been associated with a higher mortality rate in elderly patients exhibiting psychosis related to dementia; in these patients paliperidone is not approved for use.

Because the clinical trials of paliperidone were limited to six weeks' duration and antipsychotic therapy is undertaken for a lifetime, the drug's adverse effects profile could change, and physicians and nurses providing care to patients taking it should continually evaluate its effectiveness and effects.