One more look at propranolol for the treatment of refractory schizophrenia

Propranolol, a beta-adrenergic blocking agent, has been proposed previously as potentially useful in the treatment of certain otherwise treatment-unresponsive psychotic patients. This article reviews the published clinical trials of the efficacy of propranolol in schizophrenia to characterize those patients in whom it might be helpful and for whom future clinical trials should be designed. Despite a large number of inconsistent reports, the evidence to date favors its potential value as an adjunct to neuroleptic therapy in neuroleptic-resistant chronic schizophrenic patients. Several recommendations are made to improve the methodology of future clinical trials with this agent for the treatment of schizophrenia.