Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the plasma level of clozapine and its metabolite, N-desmethylcloza- pine, in Parkinson’s disease patients with L-DOPA- induced psychosis responsive to clozapine. The psychotic symptoms of the three patients studied responded to low doses of clozapine with plasma levels of clozapine between 4.5 and 16.1 ng/ml and N-desmethylclozapine between 2.6 and 6.1 ng/ml, much below the plasma clozapine levels usmlly found in clozapine-treated refractory schizophrenia or affective disorders (range 100 to 687 ng/ml). Possible mechanisms that may account for clozapine's antipsychotic action in dopaminomimetic- induced psychosis in Parkinson's disease, including serotonimA (5-HT2a) and dopamine Di receptor blockade, at plasma levels that would be ineffective in refractory schizophrenia, are discussed. It is suggested that 5-HT2A receptor blockade is the most likely basis for the effectiveness of clozapine in L-DOPA psychosis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 39-45 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Neuropsychopharmacology |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1995 |
Funding
as grants from the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss and John Pascal Sawyer Foundations and Stanley Foundation. H.Y.M. is the recipient of a USPHS Research Career Scientist Award MH 47808. The secretarial assistance of Ms. Lee Mason is greatly appreciated.
Keywords
- Clozapine
- L-DOPA
- Parkinson's Disease
- Psychosis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology
