OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the effects on primary negative symptoms
of low doses of amisulpride, a substituted benzamide neuroleptic with high
affinity for D2 and D3 dopamine receptors. METHOD: Young, drug-free
schizophrenic patients with pure negative symptoms participated in a 6-week
double-blind trial of placebo (N = 10) or low-dose amisulpride (N = 10).
They were assessed with the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms.
RESULTS: Amisulpride significantly improved negative symptoms. Improvement
in avolition, attentional impairment, and retardation was significantly
greater with amisulpride than with placebo. CONCLUSIONS: These findings
suggest that some primary negative symptoms may be directly affected by low
doses of benzamide neuroleptics.
Abstract Teaser