L-dopa challenge and relapse in schizophrenia.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Neuroleptic administration has been shown to be superior to placebo in prolonging schizophrenic remission. However, individual patients are able to maintain long periods of remission in the absence of neuroleptic treatment, while others relapse soon after neuroleptic withdrawal. This study attempted to predict time to relapse in 28 schizophrenic patients withdrawn from neuroleptics and challenged with L-dopa for 7 days, then followed until relapse. Time to relapse correlated significantly with L-dopa-induced increase in BPRS score (p = .006). Five of six patients who responded to L-dopa relapsed within 4 weeks after L-dopa administration, while only four of 22 who did not respond relapsed in a comparable period.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Davidson, M; Keefe, RS; Mohs, RC; Siever, LJ; Losonczy, MF; Horvath, TB; Davis, KL
Published Date
- July 1987
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 144 / 7
Start / End Page
- 934 - 938
PubMed ID
- 2886063
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0002-953X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1176/ajp.144.7.934
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States