Prediction of change in borderline personality disorder

Prediction of change in borderlines is an important effort because it may illuminate the character of this tentatively defined, complex disorder. In future years the disorder will be defined differently in light of its network of relationships with other variables. Presently, the strongest predictors of change in borderlines are receipt of neuroleptics and presence of target symptoms that are affected by these drugs. Other drugs and other treatments may also be found to have a selectively differential effect in which case receipt of these drugs will also predict change but perhaps on other target symptoms. Preliminary evidence implicates monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), lithium, and carbamazepine. Response to thiothixene has been found to be related to the patient's Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profile prior to treatment. Biological predictor variables studied in other disorders have been found to be abnormal in borderlines, but how these variables might relate to change has not been studied. The program of research that is necessary includes other drug treatments, nonphysiological treatments, family history, and personality variables.