Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-wq484 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T10:56:07.866Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Clinical Effects of Apomorphine in Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

I. N. Ferrer ,
E. C. Johnstone  and
T. J. Crow
I. N. Ferrer
Affiliation:
Wellcome Research Fellow and Honorary Senior Registrar
T. J. Crow
Affiliation:
Head of Division of Psychiatry and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, Division of Psychiatry, Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3UJ
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

There have been reports that low doses of the dopamine-agonist apomorphine, which may inhibit dopamine neurotransmission, are of therapeutic benefit in schizophrenia. We conducted a placebo-controlled study of acute and chronic schizophrenics in which videotaped interviews were blindly rated. No specific therapeutic effect was demonstrated for apomorphine other than a reduction in anxiety in acute schizophrenics. Furthermore, there was no difference in the frequency of side-effects of apomorphine between schizophrenic patients and controls, and no specific effect of apomorphine on blink-rates. These findings emphasize the importance of placebo-controlled studies in schizophrenia research.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 144 , Issue 4 , April 1984 , pp. 341 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aghajanian, G. K. & Bunney, B. S. (1977) Dopamine ‘autoreceptors’, pharmacological characterization by microcontophoretic single cell recording studies. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology, 297, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Angrist, B., Lee, H. K. & Gershon, S. (1974) The antagonism of amphetamine-induced symptomatology by a neuroleptic. American Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 817–19.Google Scholar
Angrist, B., Rotrosen, J. & Gershon, S. (1980) Responses to apomorphine, amphetamine and neuroleptics in schizophrenic subjects. Psychopharmacology, 67, 31–8.Google Scholar
Bird, E. D., Crow, T. J., Iversen, L. L., Longden, A., McKay, A. V. P., Riley, G. J. & Spokes, E. C. (1979) Dopamine and homovanillic acid concentrations in postmortem brain in schizophrenia. Journal of Physiology, 293, 36–7.Google Scholar
Carlsson, A. (1975) Receptor-mediated control of dopamine metabolism. In: Pre- and Postsynaptic Receptors (eds. E. Usdin and W. E. Bunney), pp. 49–62. New York: Marcel Decker.Google Scholar
Christiansen, J. & Squires, R. F. (1974) Antagonistic effects of apomorphine and haloperidol on rat striatal tyrosine hydroxylase. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 26, 367–9.Google Scholar
Connell, P. H. (1958) Amphetamine Psychosis. Maudsley Monograph 5. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Corsini, G. U., Del Zompo, M., Manconi, S., Cianchetti, C., Mangoni, A. & Gessa, G. L. (1977a) Sedative, hypnotic and antipsychotic effects of low doses of apomorphine in man. Advances in Biochemical Psychopharmacology, 16, 645–8.Google Scholar
Corsini, G. U., Del Zompo, M., Manconi, S., Cianchetti, C., Onati, P. L. & Mangoni, A. (1977b) Evidence for dopamine receptors in human brain mediating sedation and sleep. Life Sciences, 20, 1613–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crow, T. J. (1980) Molecular pathology of schizophrenia: more than one disease process? British Medical Journal, 280, 66–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crow, T. J., Deakin, J. F. W. & Longden, A. (1977) The nucleus accumbens—possible site of antipsychotic action of neuroleptic drugs. Psychological Medicine, 7, 213–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cutler, N. R., Jeste, D. V., Karoum, F. & Wyatt, R. J. (1982) Low dose apomorphine reduces serum homovanillic acid concentration in schizophrenic patients. Life Sciences, 30, 753–6.Google Scholar
Di Chiara, G., Mereu, G. P., Vargui, L., Porceddu, M. L., Malas, A., Trabbucchi, M. & Spano, F. (1977) Evidence for the existence of regulatory DA receptors in the substantia nigra . Advances in Biochemical Psychopharmacology, 16, 477–81.Google ScholarPubMed
Di Chiara, G., Corsini, G. U., Mereu, G. P., Tissari, A. & Gessa, G. L. (1978) Self-inhibitory dopamine receptors: their role in the biochemical and behavioural effects of low doses of apomorphine. Advances in Biochemical Psychopharmacology, 19, 275–92.Google ScholarPubMed
Feighner, J. P., Robins, E., Guze, S. B., Woodruff, R. A., Winokur, G. & Munoz, R. (1972) Diagnostic criteria for use in psychiatric research. Archives of General Psychiatry, 26, 57–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, F., Susselman, S. & Barrera, S. E. (1945) A note on apomorphine as a sedative. American Journal of Psychiatry, 102, 403–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hollister, L. E. (1981) Experiences with dopamine agonists in depression and schizophrenia. In: Apomorphine and Other Dopamimetics (ed. G. U. Corsini and G. L. Gessa), pp. 57–64. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Iversen, L. L., Rogawski, M. & Miller, R. J. (1976) Comparison of the effects of neuroleptic drugs on pre-and postsynaptic dopaminergic mechanisms in the rat striatum. Molecular Pharmacology, 12, 251–62.Google Scholar
Johnstone, E. C., Crow, T. J., Frith, C. D., Carney, M. W. P. & Price, J. S. (1978) Mechanism of the antipsychotic effect in acute schizophrenia. Lancet, i, 848–51.Google Scholar
Karson, C. N., Freed, W. J., Kleinman, J. E., Bigelow, L. B. & Wyatt, R. J. (1981) Neuroleptics decrease blink rates in schizophrenic patients. Biological Psychiatry, 16, 679–82.Google Scholar
Karson, C. N., Bigelow, L. B., Kleinman, J. E., Weinberger, D. R. & Wyatt, R. J. (1982) Haloperidol-induced changes in blink rates corrrelate with changes in BPRS score. British Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 503–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krawiecka, M., Goldberg, D. & Vaughan, M. (1977) A standardized assessment scale for rating chronic psychotic patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 55, 299–308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, T., Seeman, P., Tourtellotte, W. W., Farley, I. J. & Hornykiewicz, O. (1978) Binding of 3H-neuroleptics and 3H-apomorphine in schizophrenic brains. Nature, 274, 897–900.Google Scholar
Meltzer, H. Y. (1979) Clinical evidence for multiple dopamine receptors in man. Communications in Psychopharmacology, 3, 457–70.Google ScholarPubMed
Meltzer, H. Y. (1980) Relevance of dopamine autoreceptors for psychiatry: preclinical and clinical studies. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 6, 456–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meltzer, H. Y. (1982) Dopamine autoreceptor stimulation: clinical significance. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behaviour, 17, Suppl. 1, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muller, P. & Seeman, P. (1978) Dopaminergic supersensitivity after neuroleptics: time course and specificity. Psychopharmacology, 60, 1–11.Google Scholar
Owen, F., Cross, A. J., Crow, T. J., Longden, A., Poulter, M. & Riley, G. J. (1978) Increased dopamine receptor sensitivity in schizophrenia. Lancet, ii, 223–6.Google Scholar
Owens, D. G. C. & Johnstone, E. C. (1980) The disabilities of chronic schizophrenia—their nature and factors contributing to their development. British Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 384–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Post, R. M., Gerner, R. H., Carman, J. S. & Bunney, W. E. (1976) Effect of low doses of a dopamine receptor stimulator in mania. Lancet, i, 203–4.Google Scholar
Randrup, A. & Munkvad, I. (1972) Evidence indicating an association between schizophrenia and dopaminergic hyperactivity in the brain. Orthomolecular Psychiatry, 1, 2–7.Google Scholar
Skirboll, L. R., Grace, A. A. & Bunney, B. S. (1979) Dopamine auto- and postsynaptic receptors: electrophysiological evidence for differential sensitivity to dopamine agonists. Science, 206, 80–2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, R. C., Tamminga, C. A. & Davis, J. M. (1977) Effect of apomorphine on schizophrenic symptoms. Journal of Neural Transmission, 40, 171–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stevens, J. R. (1978) Blink rates: psychosis or tardive dyskinesia? American Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 223–7.Google Scholar
Summers, C. J., De Vries, J. B. & Horn, A. S. (1981) Behavioural and neurochemical studies on apomorphine-induced hypomotility in mice. Neuropharmacology, 20, 1203–8.Google Scholar
Tamminga, C. A., Schaffer, M. H., Smith, R. H. & Davis, J. M. (1978) Schizophrenic symptoms improve with apomorphine. Science, 200, 567–8.Google Scholar
Tamminga, C. A. & Schaffer, M. H. (1979) Treatment of schizophrenia with ergot derivatives. Psychopharmacology, 66, 239–42.Google Scholar
Tolosa, E. S. (1978) Modification of tardive dyskinesia and spasmodic torticollis by apomorphine. Archives of Neurology, 35, 459–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tamminga, C. A. & Sparber, S. B. (1974) Apomorphine in Huntington's chorea. Life Sciences, 15, 1371–9.Google Scholar
Wing, J. K., Cooper, J. E. & Sartorius, N. (1974) Measurement and Classification of Psychiatric Symptoms. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.