Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036341 (schizophrenia)
 60,220 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Two patients who developed the neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) are described, and pertinent literature is reviewed. A 30-year-old man developed NMS, apparently as a result of haloperidol treatment of chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia. Treatment with cooling blankets, acetaminophen, dantrolene sodium, and bromocriptine mesylate decreased abnormal vital signs, but catatonia continued. After 30 treatments with electroconvulsive therapy over a one-month period, the patient's catatonia was resolved, and he was discharged on no medication with the schizophrenia in remission. The second patient was a 22-year-old woman who developed NMS after five weeks of therapy with haloperidol and thiothixene for an acute episode of abnormal behavior. She did not respond to therapy with cooling blankets, acetaminophen, antibiotics, and amobarbital sodium. Dantrolene sodium therapy produced no improvement except for some relief of muscular rigidity. Electroconvulsive therapy (22 treatments over one month) successfully decreased the patient's elevated liver enzymes and leukocyte count, but periodic temperature elevations and catatonia continued. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of NMS are essential, as the mortality rate is 20%. Acute lethal catatonia and malignant hyperthermia are considered in differential diagnosis. Both central and peripheral pathophysiologic mechanisms are probably involved in NMS, and most cases are seen in patients with psychiatric illness. Onset of NMS does not seem related to duration of neuroleptic therapy and, in susceptible persons, additional factors may be required to trigger onset of NMS. Symptoms, including diffuse muscular rigidity, akinesia, and fever, develop within 24-72 hours. Neurologic symptoms may develop or worsen, and leukocytosis and elevated levels of liver enzymes occur. Death can result from respiratory or cardiovascular failure, and rhabdomyolysis can lead to acute renal failure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Detection and management of the neuroleptic malignant syndrome. 614 37

A probe technique requiring convergent and divergent semantic behavior and representing five levels of communicative responsibility served as the research tool. Stimuli were presented to 29 asphasic adults (13 Broca's, 7 Wernicke's, and 9 anomic), 26 adults with chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia, and 32 normal elderly control subjects. Within each group significant differences were observed on the semantic task (convergent and divergent) and on level of communicative responsibility. Among subjects with aphasia, differences appeared to relate more to severity than type. Differences between unclassified aphasic and "schizophasic" groups occurred only when multiword responses were required. We conclude that continued use of the term "schizophasia" may be unwarranted and that the linguistic behaviors we observed in aphasia and the language of schizophrenia may contribute to differential diagnosis.
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PMID:Communicative responsibility and semantic task in aphasia and "schizophasia". 753 52

Recent reports suggest some utility for famotidine, a histamine type 2 (H2) antagonist, in the treatment of schizophrenia. The current report describes a treatment-resistant patient with chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia whose most dramatic symptomatic improvements were temporarily related to the open-label addition of famotidine (40-100 mg/day) to conventional neuroleptic treatment (molindone 150-200 mg/day) over the course of approximately 10 months. During one 2-week interval, his symptoms were controlled with famotidine (40 mg/day) alone. The case suggests that some adjuvant efficacy exists for famotidine in at least some patients with schizophrenia. Placebo-controlled trials are needed to more fully evaluate the utility of famotidine in the treatment of schizophrenia.
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PMID:Famotidine adjunctive pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia: a case report. 866 50