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Dextro-propranolol and depressive symptoms in a schizophrenic population
1University of Western Ontario, St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital, Canada.
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry
|January 1, 1987
Summary
Dextro-propranolol did not worsen depression in acute schizophrenic patients during a four-week trial. While both groups showed reduced depression scores, the placebo group experienced more emergent depressive symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder often accompanied by depressive symptoms.
- The potential impact of beta-blockers, such as dextro-propranolol, on mood in schizophrenic patients requires investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effect of dextro-propranolol on depressive symptomatology in patients with acute schizophrenia.
- To assess whether dextro-propranolol has a depressogenic effect in this patient population.
Main Methods:
- A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 36 patients with acute schizophrenia.
- Patients were randomly assigned to receive either dextro-propranolol or a placebo for four weeks.
- Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Present State Examination, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and Manchester Scale at baseline, during, and at the end of the trial.
Main Results:
- Both dextro-propranolol and placebo groups showed an overall reduction in mean depression scores by the end of the trial.
- A small number of patients in both groups experienced an emergence or increase in depressive symptoms, with a higher incidence in the placebo group.
- No depressogenic effect attributable to dextro-propranolol was observed in the studied population.
Conclusions:
- Dextro-propranolol does not appear to induce or exacerbate depressive symptoms in patients with acute schizophrenia.
- The findings suggest that dextro-propranolol can be safely used in this population without a significant risk of worsening depression.