NALOXONE ATTENUATES DRINKING BEHAVIOR IN PSYCHIATRIC-PATIENTS DISPLAYING SELF-INDUCED WATER-INTOXICATION

Nishikawa, Tadashi, Akira Tsuda, Masatoshi Tanaka, Mariko Nishikawa, I tsuyuki Koga and Yasunori Uchida: Naloxone Attenuates Drinking Behavio r in Psychiatric Patients Displaying Self-induced Water Intoxication. Prog. Neuro-Psychopharmacol. & Biol. Psychiat. 1994, 18(1): 149-153. 1 . The present study was performed to examine the effect of naloxone on drinking behavior in three schizophrenic inpatients with psychosis, i ntermittent hyponatremia, and polydipsia. 2. Their body weight were ch ecked five times daily and the maximum weight gain during a day was ch osen as an index of their polydipsia 3. After control recording for si x weeks, a daily naloxone (0.6 mg) injection series was performed once every two weeks for three series (six weeks). Withdrawal of this drug for six weeks resulted in weight gain recovering to control level. 4. The present study showed that naloxone seems to be a potential treatm ent for psychiatric patients displayking self-induced water intoxicati on arid that endogenous opioid systems are involved in the compulsive drinking behavior of this syndrome.