Depressed Hospitalized Psychiatric Patients Treated with Chlorprothixene Concentrate

¹ New Jersey State Hospital, Greystone Park, New Jersey.

A pilot study, comparing chlorprothixene in tablets (Taractan®) with a new liquid suspension of the drug in a sampling of 20 psychiatric patients, preceded the major study. A three-week trial on each demonstrated that the liquid concentrate was nontoxic, faster acting, more palatable, easier to administer, and equally therapeutic.

In the major study, the chlorprothixene liquid concentrate was compared with matched liquid placebo, employing double-blind procedures.

Of 100 hospitalized female patients (72 psychotics and 28 neurotics) with depressive reactions, 50 received the drug at 150 mg. increased to 300 mg., daily; and 50 were given equal amounts of inert liquid placebo.

Over-all improvement, based upon elimination or lessening of the predominant target symptoms—depression, anxiety and tension, agitation, hyperactivity, and hostility—was as follows: Of the 50 drug-treated patients, 32 became asymptomatic (25 of whom were released), while 31 became worse on placebo. On chlorprothixene 12 showed moderate improvement while no change occurred in 16 on placebo.

Six schizophrenics whose depression lifted on 300 mg. chlorprothixene daily became hyperactive and required electroshock therapy with return to their initial 150 mg. daily in three divided doses.

Except for these dose-related reactions, no drug-induced side effects occurred. Pretherapy laboratory tests (hemograms, urinalyses, and alkaline phosphatase determinations), repeated after five weeks on the drug, showed no significant deviations from control levels.

Statistical analysis of averaged improvement scores of ten symptoms rated yielded significant differences (P<0.01) between the drug and the placebo groups in nine symptoms; improvement differences in hallucinosis were not significant.

From the results obtained in this sample of psychiatric patients, chlorprothixene liquid concentrate proved to be a potent antidepressant and effective in controlling psychotic symptoms.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?