The ATLAS2 (Anti-psychotic Treatment of very LAte onset Schizophrenia like psychosis) was a double-blind randomised trial that aimed to provide reliable evidence on whether giving a low dose of amisulpride, an antipsychotic-drug, to people with a diagnosis of late onset psychosis would produce sufficient benefit to outweigh the potential risks. ATLAS volunteers were randomly allocated to take either amisulpride 100mg or matching placebo for 12 weeks with a second randomisation to switch or to continue with the same treatment for a further 12 weeks. The ATLAS trial design ensured that all participants received amisulpride for at least 12 weeks of that time. Late onset psychosis is a common condition with a large adverse effect on the quality of life of those affected. Yet, there were no randomised clinical trial data to inform treatment of this large but understudied group of patients.
Between Sept 27, 2012, and June 28, 2016, 101 participants were recruited, a small number compared to the many tens of thousands of future patients, whose treatment would be guided by the results of the ATLAS study. ATLAS was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme (HTA)
results
The results, published in the Lancet Psychiatry showed that low-dose amisulpride is effective and well tolerated as a treatment for very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis, with benefits maintained by prolonging treatment.