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Does Propranolol have an Antipsychotic Effect?

A Placebo-Controlled Study in Acute Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Rahul Manchanda  and
Steven R. Hirsch
Rahul Manchanda
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry at Charing Cross & Westminster Medical School; University of Western Ontario; St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital, P.O. Box 2004, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, 1ND5 3V9
Steven R. Hirsch*
Affiliation:
Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, Fulham Palace Road, London, W6 8RF
*
∗Correspondence.
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Abstract

Thirty-six acute schizophrenics were randomly assigned to dextro (d)-propranolol or placebo in a double blind trial lasting four weeks. All patients had a fixed dose of haloperidol during the first week, which resulted in an initial improvement in both groups. Thereafter, a deterioration towards base-line was seen. Six patients on placebo, but none on propranolol were treatment failures at the end of three weeks (P < 0.001). Comparison of change in scores from week 2 to 4 showed significantly greater deterioration in the placebo group; d-propranolol thus had a better effect than placebo in sustaining the initial improvement with haloperidol. The overall magnitude of clinical change from pre-treatment scores is small, the majority of the patients showing little or no overall improvement. It is concluded that d-propranolol has a detectable therapeutic effect, which by inference must have a novel pharmacological basis, but this is not as potent as standard neuroleptics.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 148 , Issue 6 , June 1986 , pp. 701 - 707
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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