Article date: October 1981
By: MB Youdim, A Hefez, B Oppenheim, in Volume 12, Issue 4, pages 535-542
1 Enhancement of platelet aggregation response (PAR) to 5‐ hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) in some schizophrenic patients receiving chlorpromazine (CPZ) may provide a biological index for the efficacy of this drug. 2 In a double‐blind study 33 schizophrenic patients hospitalized following their first psychotic breakdown were followed up clinically with concurrent assessment of their PAR to 5‐HT. The patients followed a standardized treatment schedule with (CPZ) as the sole antipsychotic medication. 3 Twelve patients (Group A) developed an enhanced biphasic 5‐HT PAR, within 2‐3 weeks and improved clinically by the sixth week. In most cases, the appearance of the enhanced biphasic PAR preceded clinical improvement. Twenty‐one patients (Group B) did not have enhanced biphasic PAR to 5‐HT by the sixteenth week of treatment. However, twelve subjects from this group showed clinical response to CPZ by the end of this period, while the remaining patients did not improve. 4 The enhanced PAR to 5‐HT in Group A discriminated best between good and bad outcome cases when Feighner's research diagnostic criteria were used. We could not confirm the previous reports of platelet aggregation response to dopamine in pre‐ or post‐ chlorpromazine treatment.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1981.tb01262.x
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