Neuroleptics reduce spinal fluid cyclic AMP in schizophrenic patient

Cyclic AMP in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was determined in a group of 10 schizophrenic patients before neuroleptic drug treatment and after a mean of 8 week's antipsychotic drug therapy. For 8 patients with marked to moderate treatment response a significant (p less than 0.01) decline in CSF cyclic AMP was observed. This result is consistent with the theory that blockade of postsynaptic dopamine receptors is a major mechanism of the antipsychotic action of neuroleptic drugs.