High Dose Trifluoperazine Therapy in Chronic Schizophrenia
ROBERT F. PRIEN PH.D.1,
JEROME LEVINE M.D.2, , and
JONATHAN O. COLE M.D.3
1 Central Neuropsychiatric Laboratory, Veterans Administration Hospital, Perry Point, Md. 21902
2 Chief, Psychopharmacology Research Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Chevy Chase, Md.
3 Superintendent, Boston State Hospital, Boston, Mass.
This collaborative study on the efficacy of high doses of trifluoperazine in chronic schizophrenia showed that treatment response was related to length of hospitalization; short-term patients benefited most. High doses of trifluoperazine were most effective with those short-term patients who had been on a piperazine phenothiazine prior to the study. Also, most placebo patients who had been receiving low doses of phenothiazines before the study did not suffer deleterious effects while they were off medication. Treatment implications are discussed.
