Long-Term Treatment with Neuroleptic Drugs and Eye Opacities
GEORGE E. CRANE M.D.1,
ALBIN W. JOHNSON M.D.2, , and
WILLIAM J. BUFFALOE M.D.3
1 Director of Medical Research, Spring Grove State Hospital, Catonsville, Md. 21228
2 Consultant in Ophthalmology, Dorothea Dix State Hospital, Raleigh. N. C.
3 Assistant Superintendent, Dorothea Dix State Hospital, Raleigh. N. C.
Approximately 100 chronic schizophrenic patients were examined for drug-induced eye changes. The lens was affected in 36 patients, the cornea in 19. There was a linear relationship between eye opacities and the total intake of drugs. Corneal opacities were also related to the intake of high doses of chlorpromazine over a short period of time. In most instances the ocular changes were irreversible. Despite heavy deposits in the anterior part of the eye, vision was unimpaired and the retina appeared to be intact.
