Pimozide in the maintenance treatment of apathetic and emotionally withdrawn schizophrenics

An open pilot study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of pimozide as the sole maintenance therapy for chronic institutionalized schizophrenics who were withdrawn and apathetic. A total of 13 patients entered the study and, following withdrawal of all other neuroleptics for 1 month, patients then received pimozide in a dosage increased gradually from 8 mg to 20 mg per day. Patients were assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the St. Wulston's Ward Behaviour Scale. There was a trend towards improvement when patients were assessed by both rating scales. This was only statistically significant between the pre-pimozide measurement and the 4 and 6-month's assessment on the BPRS. Other differences, including a slight reduction in side-effects, were not statistically significant.