ONE-YEAR, LOW-DOSE NEUROLEPTIC STUDY OF INPATIENTS WITH CHRONIC-SCHIZOPHRENIA CHARACTERIZED BY PERSISTENT NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS - AMISULPRIDE V. HALOPERIDOL

Background Amisulpride is a potent substituted benzamide antipsychotic drug claimed to improve the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, parti cularly at low dosage. Method Sixty long-term in-patients with schizop hrenia and selected for predominant negative symptoms were randomised to receive either haloperidol or amisulpride. Over a year there was sy stematic dose reduction, as symptoms allowed. Results There were no si gnificant differences between the treatment groups in the proportion r eceiving low-dose treatment, the control of positive symptoms, or rati ngs of social behaviour, side-effects or tardive dyskinesia, For negat ive symptoms, there were consistent but non-significant trends in favo ur of amisulpride. The amisulpride patients required significantly les s anticholinergic medication. Conclusions in chronically-hospitalised in-patients with schizophrenia characterised by persistent negative sy mptoms, amisulpride was a well-tolerated maintenance antipsychotic med ication. The drug had only a limited effect in reducing negative sympt oms, which were relatively stable, enduring phenomena in this sample, despite dosage reduction.