Neuroendocrine evidence that clozapine's serotonergic antagonism is relevant to its efficacy in treating hallucinations and other positive schizophrenic symptoms.
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| Abstract | OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the effect of prolonged clozapine treatment on central serotonergic (5-HT) function in schizophrenia. METHOD:
Prolactin responses to the 5-HT releasing agent d-fenfluramine were measured in two groups of 10 schizophrenic subjects. The first group was tested twice, before and after a mean of 10 weeks of clozapine treatment. The second group was tested after a mean of 20 months of clozapine treatment. RESULTS: The prolactin response was significantly blunted in these 20 patients treated with clozapine. There was a significant positive correlation between d-fenfluramine-evoked prolactin release and the overall positive symptom score and the hallucination and delusion subscores of the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Blunted 5-HT-mediated prolactin responses in schizophrenic patients receiving clozapine monotherapy for up to 20 months were correlated with reductions in positive symptoms. This suggests that 5-HT antagonism is relevant to clozapine's efficacy in alleviating hallucinations and other positive schizophrenic symptoms.
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| Authors | H Jones, V A Curtis, P Wright, J V Lucey |
| Journal | The American journal of psychiatry (Am J Psychiatry) Vol. 155 Issue 6 Pg. 838-40 (Jun 1998) ISSN: 0002-953X [Print] United States |
| PMID | 9619161 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article) |
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