Effects of raclopride treatment on plasma and CSF HVA: relationships with clinical improvement in male schizophrenics

John G. Csernansky*, John W. Newcomer, Karen Jackson, Leon Lombrozo, Kym F. Faull, Robert Zipursky, Adolf Pfefferbaum, William O. Faustman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Thirty-two acutely psychotic, male schizophrenic patients received raclopride, at 2, 6, or 12 mg/day, or haloperidol, 15 mg/day for 4 weeks after randomized, double-blind assignment. Twenty-six patients, including 19 who had been assigned one of the three doses of raclopride, completed the study. Raclopride, particularly at 12 mg/day, increased CSF homovanillic acid (HVA) at 4 weeks, and plasma HVA at 2 days, of treatment. The clinical response to raclopride was significantly correlated with plasma raclopride concentrations and baseline plasma HVA concentrations. Although raclopride is a substituted benzamide with atypical properties in animals, these results suggest that the doses of raclopride required for clinical efficacy and elevation of clinical indices of brain dopamine turnover are similar.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)291-296
Number of pages6
JournalPsychopharmacology
Volume116
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1994

Keywords

  • Antipsychotics
  • Dopamine
  • Raclopride
  • Schizophrenia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of raclopride treatment on plasma and CSF HVA: relationships with clinical improvement in male schizophrenics'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this