The treatment of acute schizophrenics with thioridazine
The conclusion of our experience concerning the treatment of acute schizophrenics over a fair amount of years is that thioridazine gives the best results of all the existant antischizophrenic psychopharmaca. This knowledge did raise the question if it could give us some clues about what is called the schizophrenic process itself. Our aim was to compare the connection of the clinical improvements with the outcome of psychological clinical tests and with the extent and manner of the albumin binding of thioridazine and some of its metabolites in the blood of our patients during treatment.
Notwithstanding rapid and impressive clinical improvement of schizophrenic patients involved, the schizophrenic process proceeds but seems to become 'encompassed'. The way and rate of the metabolism of thioridazine had a constant pattern from the first. It is of practical importance to know if the level of thioridazine in the blood is sufficient to bring about the desired clinical effects.