Pimozide in chronic schizophrenic outpatients

Abstract

In a double blind placebo controlled clinical evaluation of maintenance therapy in chronic schizophrenic female outpatients, thiordazine in single daily doses not exceeding 375 mg./day for 6 months was shown to be effective maintenance treatment compared with PL, thereby establishing the sensitivity of the experiment. Pimozide was also shown to be effective in a single oral dose not exceeding 16 mg./day and comparable overall to the standard drug. The experimental design was based on the anticipated retrogression of PL treated subjects during the 6-month study period, which was reflected in 5 of 9 (56%) "treatment failures" in the PL group compared to 2 of 14 (14%) and 2 of 12 (17%) in the THI and PIM groups, respectively. In addition, in some instances improvement over baseline evaluations was noted in both drug groups, particularly on global impression. Though some items of the BPRS exhibited Drug: PL differences, the scale in general was felt to be rather insensitive for this kind of study. Social adjustment ratings on a special scale completed by the patients and families alike, were also found to be insensitive to treatment differences. Side effects most often seen with THI were sedation, EKG and liver function abnormalities. Headache and restlessness occurred most often with PIM. Extrapyramidal symptoms and insomnia were seen most often with PIM and PL equally.