The authors evaluated hemodialysis as a treatment for schizophrenia in
an uncontrolled study of 11 patients. Eight men and two women with chronic
schizophrenia who had responded poorly to conventional treatments or who
had sought alternate treatments received three dialyses weekly for 3 weeks;
1 additional subject dropped out after eight treatments. MMPI, Psychiatric
Status Scale, and Inpatient Multidimensional Psychiatric Scale scores were
obtained before, immediately following, and at intervals after the nine
treatments. Preliminary results, including 1-month follow-up, suggest that
subjects with pretreatment anxiety and depression improved. No endorphins
were discovered in the dialysate.Abstract Teaser