THIORIDAZINE IMPROVES AFFECTIVE SYMPTOMS IN SCHIZOPHRENIC-PATIENTS

Consenting schizophrenic patients ranging in age from 18 to 63 years w ere withdrawn from antipsychotics for at least 1 week and randomly ass igned to receive identical capsules of thioridazine (n = 13), molindon e (n = 10), or haloperidol (n = 12) for a minimum of 6 weeks. Compared with the molindone- and haloperidol-treated patients, the thioridazin e-treated patients were significantly improved over time as measured b y Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) total scores. Improvement in BPRS scores was due la rgely to improvement in symptoms of anxiety and depression. Subjects d id not differ significantly on other measures, with the important exce ption of weight. On average, molindone patients lost 5 pounds over the 6 weeks of treatment, whereas thioridazine patients gained 6 pounds. Haloperidol-treated patients had no significant weight changes.