Pergolide as adjuvant therapy to amisulpride in the treatment of negative and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia.

Abstract

Negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with a hypodopaminergic state in the frontal cortex and do not respond to neuroleptics equally well as positive symptoms. Therefore pharmacological strategies, which increase dopamine metabolism in the mesocortical pathways, may prove beneficial to ameliorate these symptoms. We report on a case of a patient with paranoid schizophrenia, who still presented negative and depressive symptoms during treatment with amisulpride for more than 6 weeks. We prescribed pergolide (a mixed D1/D2 agonist) as adjuvant therapy to treat these symptoms. The patient showed an improvement of global psychopathology, decrease of negative and depressive symptoms, while no changes in positive symptoms nor EPS were present. For this patient, the adjuvant therapy of pergolide to amisulpride constituted a valid pharmacological approach to treat negative and depressive symptoms of schizophrenia, without increasing positive symptoms.

• Authors: D Roesch-Ely, K Göhring, P Gruschka, S Kaiser, U Pfüller, M Burlon, M Weisbrod
• Journal: Pharmacopsychiatry (Pharmacopsychiatry) Vol. 39 Issue 3 Pg. 115-6 (May 2006) ISSN: 0176-3679 [Print] Germany
• PMID: 16721703 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Letter, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antipsychotic Agents
• Dopamine Agonists
• Receptors, Dopamine D1
• Receptors, Dopamine D2
• Pergolide
• Sulpiride
• Amisulpride

Topics

• Adult
• Amisulpride
• Antipsychotic Agents (administration & dosage)
• Comorbidity
• Depressive Disorder (diagnosis, drug therapy, psychology)
• Dopamine Agonists (administration & dosage)
• Drug Therapy, Combination
• Frontal Lobe (drug effects)
• Hallucinations (diagnosis, drug therapy, psychology)
• Humans
• Male
• Neural Pathways (drug effects)
• Pergolide (administration & dosage)
• Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
• Receptors, Dopamine D1 (agonists)
• Receptors, Dopamine D2 (agonists)
• Schizophrenia, Paranoid (diagnosis, drug therapy, psychology)
• Sulpiride (administration & dosage, analogs & derivatives)
• Treatment Outcome