ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study assessed the safety and efficacy of nadolol 120 mg/day compared with placebo, when administered adjunctively to neuroleptic in a group of acutely aggressive schizophrenic patients. METHOD: Thirty-four male patients enrolled in this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The subjects were evaluated with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Simpson Angus Neurologic Rating Scale for extrapyramidal effects. The total BPRS score as well as three factors, thought disturbance, hostility, and activation, was analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with those who received placebo, the patients taking nadolol showed significant improvement on total BPRS score, particularly on the thought disturbance and activation factors, after the first treatment week (p = .05). By the end of the second treatment week, the patients taking placebo also began to show improvement, and the group differences were no longer significant. The patients treated with nadolol showed significantly more improvement on Simpson-Angus scores than those who received placebo (p = .03). However, there was no significant correlation between BPRS and Simpson-Angus changes. In the nadolol group, patients with and without akathisia showed no significant difference in their BPRS scores. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that adjunctive nadolol may be useful in the treatment of acutely aggressive schizophrenic patients by inducing a more rapid and consistent decrease of overall psychiatric symptoms and by reducing the extrapyramidal effects. Our results raise the possibility that the mechanism of action of nadolol on psychiatric symptoms in schizophrenic patients may be different from the mechanism of improvement of neuroleptic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms and akathisia. Nadolol may be a helpful adjunctive treatment for schizophrenic patients in general and not just for those with a high hostility level.
Subject(s)
Aggression/drug effects , Antipsychotic Agents/therapeutic use , Nadolol/therapeutic use , Schizophrenia/drug therapy , Acute Disease , Adult , Double-Blind Method , Drug Therapy, Combination , Humans , Intensive Care Units , Male , Nadolol/pharmacology , Placebos , Psychiatric Department, Hospital , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Schizophrenia/diagnosis , Schizophrenic Psychology , Treatment OutcomeSubject(s)
Aggression , Nursing Staff/psychology , Sexual Behavior , Female , Humans , Male , Nurse-Patient Relations , Psychiatric NursingABSTRACT
We report a controlled 3-week study (n = 30) of adjunctive use of nadolol, 80 to 120 mg per day, vs. placebo for the management of violent psychiatric patients. There were no remarkable adverse cardiac effects at this dose. The active treatment group showed lower total Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores after the first week of treatment (analysis of covariance [ANCOVA], p less than .08) and similar trends for the activation factor and the hostility scale. There were parallel findings for measures of extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) (Simpson-Angus Neurological Rating Scale), which were reliable after the second week (ANCOVA, p less than .02). A significant association between changes in EPS and BPRS scores was found by regression analysis, after the effects of baseline measures were removed. Given that nadolol does not penetrate the central nervous system well, the antiaggressive effects may be associated with sympathetic nervous system feedback mechanisms.
Subject(s)
Mental Disorders/drug therapy , Nadolol/therapeutic use , Violence , Adult , Aged , Double-Blind Method , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/psychology , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating ScalesSubject(s)
Personality Assessment , Professional Staff Committees , Wit and Humor as Topic , Humans , Psychiatry , United StatesSubject(s)
Work Schedule Tolerance , Work , Female , Humans , Male , Military Medicine , Physicians , United States , Wit and Humor as TopicABSTRACT
As an example of progress, a program is described, undertaken, by the New York School of Psychiatry, to train and educate psychiatrists and related professional groups in management and administration.
