Facialis palsy attributable to depot antipsychotic therapy.
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OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of long-acting risperidone and zuclopenthixol in subjects with schizophrenia and substance abuse. METHOD: A total of 115 subjects with schizophrenia and substance use disorders were enrolled for an open, randomized, controlled, 6-month follow-up study. Fifty-seven subjects were selected for treatment with long-acting injectable risperidone, while another 58 were treated with zuclopenthixol-depot. RESULTS: Long-acting risperidone patients presented fewer positive urine tests (8.67 compared with 10.36, P = 0.005), showed improved scores on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and showed better compliance with the Substance Abuse Management program. The use of long-acting risperidone and less severe dependence explained the outcome at the end of the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Long-acting injectable risperidone was more effective than zuclopenthixol-depot in improving substance abuse and schizophrenia symptoms in subjects with dual diagnosis.
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Twenty-five acutely disturbed psychotic patients were treated in an open study with a single injection of zuclopenthixol acetate 5% in 'Viscoleo, a thin vegetable oil. Patients were assessed post-injection for 3 days using the BPRS, CGI, and a specially designed behaviour/activity scale. Doses of 50 to 150 mg proved effective in 24 (96%) of 25 patients, with pronounced and rapid reduction in psychotic symptoms over the study period. The mean total BPRS score after 72 hours was reduced by over 57%. Tranquillization and sedation appeared within 15 to 90 minutes of injection. Unwanted symptoms were generally mild and of low incidence. The results showed that a single injection of zuclopenthixol acetate 5% in 'Viscoleo' provided rapid tranquillization and sedation coupled with an antipsychotic effect over 3 days. This profile offers a distinct advantage over neuroleptic preparations conventionally used for the initial treatment of acutely disturbed psychotic patients.
A double-blind, multi-centre study was carried out in 49 hospitalized patients with an acute psychosis or an exacerbation of a chronic psychosis to compare the wanted and unwanted effects of the neuroleptics, zuclopenthixol and haloperidol. Patients were allocated at random to receive treatment with one or other of the trial drugs for 8 weeks or until discharge. Five patients on zuclopenthixol and 6 on haloperidol were excluded from the efficacy analyses because they did not complete a minimum of 4-weeks' treatment. Dosage was chosen and adjusted to the individual patient's condition and response. The average daily doses in Week 4 were 33.5 mg and 10.3 mg, respectively. Clinical assessments, including CGI, BPRS and the UKU side-effect scale, were done at baseline, and after 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of treatment or at discharge if the patient was discharged earlier than Week 8. Both treatments caused a significant reduction in scores with no between-group differences. More patients in the zuclopenthixol group were discharged early indicating slightly more rapid onset of action. Zuclopenthixol caused a significantly greater improvement in 'anxious-depression' factor score than haloperidol. The most frequent unwanted effects were extrapyramidal symptoms and there were no significant differences between the groups. The extrapyramidal symptoms tended to be transient in the zuclopenthixol group, but not in the haloperidol group. The study confirmed that both zuclopenthixol and haloperidol were effective drugs in the treatment of acute, psychotic patients. There was a trend towards a slightly more rapid onset of effect and a somewhat stronger anxiolytic-antidepressant effect by zuclopenthixol compared to haloperidol.
A meta-analysis was carried out of the data from two double-blind, multi-centre studies with identical methodology which compared the effectiveness of treatment of elderly patients with zuclopenthixol and with other antipsychotic drugs. In one study, patients were treated for 4 weeks with either zuclopenthixol or melperone; in the other, with either zuclopenthixol or a combination of haloperidol and levomepromazine. The meta-analysis evaluated the results of 96 patients, 49 in the zuclopenthixol group and 47 in the comparison group. Doses, which were adjusted to individual patient's needs, were low as shown by the percentages of defined daily doses for each of the study drugs. The results indicated that all three treatment alternatives were effective in the treatment of elderly patients with symptoms of agitation and hostility/aggressiveness. There was a trend, however, for zuclopenthixol to have a more rapid onset of effect. Zuclopenthixol also has the advantage for both patients and nursing staff that dosage is once daily. Only few and mild side-effects were reported with the three drug regimens.
A double-blind controlled trial was carried out in 73 hospitalized elderly patients to evaluate the effect of different low doses of the neuroleptic, zuclopenthixol, on behavioural disorders associated with dementia. Patients were randomized into four groups and received treatment for 4 weeks with fixed daily doses of 2 mg, 4 mg or 6 mg zuclopenthixol, or with a dose which could be increased from 4 mg to 20 mg daily. The dose could also be reduced if necessary. Fifty-four of the patients remained on the same daily dose throughout the study. The results of symptom assessments showed that there was a significant improvement from baseline scores in all of the dose groups and, with the exception of patients on 2 mg daily, this was evident after only 1 week of treatment. Although improvement was noted in all the symptoms evaluated, the best effect was achieved on aggressive behaviour, restlessness/agitation, sleep disorders, and shouts/torments others. Only a few, relatively mild side-effects were recorded and there was no increase in frequency with increasing doses. There was significant correlation between the serum concentration and the dose of zuclopenthixol used but not in connection to age and clinical efficacy.
Several clinical studies implicated oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of both psychosis and dementia. As dementia is commonly associated with psychosis, antipsychotic medications are of importance in the pharmacotherapy of dementia particularly as a number of antipsychotics were reported to demonstrate neuronal pro-oxidant and/or antioxidant properties. Impairment of learning and memory, as the most characteristic manifestation of dementia, could be induced in experimental animals by acute administration of scopolamine (SCO) with a resultant elevation in brain oxidative status. This study investigated the potential pro-oxidant and/or antioxidant activity of the antipsychotic drug zuclopenthixol acetate, as its effect on brain oxidative status has yet to be evaluated. A 2 x 3 between-subjects factorial design was used to investigate the simultaneous and interactive effects of zuclopenthixol (0.7 and 1.4 mg/kg i.p.) and SCO on rat brain malondialdehyde, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase levels/activities. Results revealed a significant pro-oxidant effect for both zuclopenthixol and SCO alone conditions. In addition, combined treatment of zuclopenthixol and SCO was found to be significantly different compared to either treatment conditions with regard to their effect on different brain oxidative stress indices. Such findings may have valuable implications in the pharmacotherapy of both psychosis and dementia.
A 20-year-old man developed generalised rigidity and signs of autonomic instability following the introduction of therapy with zuclopenthixol decanoate. A diagnosis of NMS was made, despite the absence of hyperthermia. He recovered on treatment with thiamine, dantrolene, and bromocriptine.
This is the first report of a zuclopenthixol-induced NMS. The lack of previous reports may be because the receptor-binding profile of thioxanthenes give rise to fewer extrapyramidal effects than comparable neuroleptics. It is important to know more of the relationship between the potential for induction of extrapyramidal effects and success in NMS rechallenge.
A patient suffering from schizophrenia developed diabetic keto-acidosis and NMS after treatment with neuroleptics. The combination of two uncommon complications of treatment with neuroleptics proved fatal.
We report a case of neuroleptic malignant syndrome where the catatonia clearly followed the administration of neuroleptics and where the neurovegetative disturbance was remarkably severe, including episodes of tracheal spasm, apnoea and episodes of bradycardia, and sinus arrest requiring insertion of a temporary external pacing wire. To our knowledge, such severe disturbance has not previously been reported.
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BACKGROUND: We compared the efficacy of two neuroleptics with different receptor profiles (zuclopenthixol and haloperidol) in learning disabled patients with behavioural disturbance. METHOD: A double-blind crossover study (2 x 8 weeks; n = 34), interrupted by a two-week single-blind washout period, was employed. Assessments included the Schedule for Handicaps, Behaviour, and Skills (SHBS) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI). RESULTS: The SHBS score was significantly reduced for the zuclopenthixol cohort only. End-point analysis between the two drugs also showed an enhanced effect for zuclopenthixol over haloperidol. CGI scores did not reveal significant differences between the two drugs. CONCLUSION: Zuclopenthixol may be superior to haloperidol for the treatment of behavioural disturbances in mentally retarded subjects.
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BACKGROUND: Exemplified by a randomised trial on antimanic treatment, this paper addresses the question of whether selection of patients for drug trials may limit the applicability of study results from the randomised patients to a wider population. METHOD: During two-year period, all consecutively admitted patients from a defined catchment area were screened for inclusion criteria concerning age, diagnosis and severity of illness. The subsequently excluded subgroups of patients were compared with the randomised patients by multivariate data analysis. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-four patients met the inclusion criteria. However, after exclusion for various reasons, only 27 (17%) patients remained for randomisation. The randomised patients and the excluded patients differed substantially. CONCLUSIONS: The generalisability of trial results is limited. Reports of randomised drug trials should carefully describe the screening procedure for inclusion and, when possible, present relevant comparisons-between the randomised patients and the various subgroups of excluded patients.