Am J Psychiatry 1979; 136:914-917
Copyright © 1979 by American Psychiatric Association
Effect of chlorpromazine on human growth hormone
AA Beg, VK Varma and RJ Dash
The authors studied basal HGH levels and HGH response to insulin- induced
hypoglycemia in 12 schizophrenic patients who had been treated with
200--450 mg/day of chlorpromazine for 6 months to 4 years compared with 12
schizophrenic patients who had received no drugs and 15 normal control
subjects. They found no significant differences among the three groups in
basal HGH levels or in maximum response HGH levels. No significant
correlation was found between duration or dose of chlorpromazine therapy
and HGH secretion. Longitudinal study in 5 previously untreated
schizophrenic patients during 13 weeks of chlorpromazine administration
showed a nonsignificant reduction in HGH response. Thus, the authors'
findings fail to demonstrate any significant effect of chlorpromazine on
growth hormone secretion in man.
