Quetiapine in patients with borderline personality disorder: An open-label trial

Background: Quetiapine was assessed in patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) to examine its potential effect on symptoms and explore a tolerated dosing pattern. Method: An open label case series with objective rating measures was undertaken. The study was of 8 weeks duration. Results: Sixteen research subjects received quetiapine and completed at least one rating. Nine subjects completed the entire 8 week trial. In the LOCF and completer analyses, significant improvement was noted on GAF, SCL-90, BIS, and SIB. Specifically for the LOCF analysis, GAF increased from 57.7 to 64.6 (p = 0.001), SCL-90 decreased from 120.1 to 78.4 (p = 0.004), BIS improved from 73.4 to 59.9 (p = 0.021), and the SIB started at 267.8 and ended at 202.3 (p < 0.001). The average dose of quetiapine for LOCF analysis was 223.4 mg/d and was 286.1 mg/d for the completers. Common side-effects were similar to those seen in schizophrenic patients - sedation and increased appetite. Conclusions: Significant reductions in symptoms assessed by objective rating scales were observed in this pilot study of quetiapine administered to subjects with BPD. The dosing strategy in the study was well tolerated.