A symptom profile analysis of antipsychotic drug treatment: nonparametric multidimensional technique

Thirty-six schizoaffective patients were treated with haloperidol plus lithium or haloperidol plus placebo. Standard statistical analysis showed greater improvement in those treated with lithium plus haloperidol, as published previously. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores were reanalyzed in the present study using a nonparametric technique for multidimensional scaling of symptom profiles. The differential outcome after haloperidol with or without added lithium is determined both by symptom dimension and by type of drug. Added lithium prevents a depressive shift after haloperidol treatment on the dimension of "cognitive disorganization--depressive preoccupation."