A double blind comparative study of remoxipride and thioridazine in the acute phase of schizophrenia

This is the first comparative double blind study of remoxipride. Sixty-one patients with acute schizophrenia received either remoxipride (75-375 mg daily) or thioridazine (150-750 mg daily) for 6 weeks. There was no statistically significant between-drug difference in improvement in mental state, as measured by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, although the trend favoured thioridazine; global assessment of illness severity at the last rating also favoured thioridazine. Sedation, anticholinergic effects, autonomic dysfunction and weight gain were significantly more common in patients receiving thioridazine. Both drugs produced few extrapyramidal effects, but both produced cardiovascular changes in two patients; neither drug produced significant abnormalities in laboratory tests.