Efficacy and Tolerability of Flunarizine for the Treatment of Schizophrenia: Comparison With Haloperidol

Ambulatório de Bipolaridade70 enrolled

Overview

Flunarizine is a calcium channel blocker traditionally used for the treatment of vertigo and migraine. It also has the mechanism of action associated with antipsychotic activity (D2 receptor blockade), but has never been tested as such. The investigators hypothesis is that flunarizine can be an atypical antipsychotic.

The main advantage of flunarizine over other D2 receptor blockers is its long half-life, so that it may be administered weekly or may delay relapse if medication is interrupted.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Interventions

FlunarizineDRUG

For 1 week, 40 mg/day. From week 2 to 3, 20 mg/day. Form week 4 onwards, dosage increment or reduction of 10mg/day was allowed according to efficacy and tolerability.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 60 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * DSM-IV schizophrenic or schizoaffective patients between 18 and 55 years old with a PANSS score above 45. Exclusion Criteria: * Clinical disease * Pregnancy * Drug dependence (except for nicotine) in the past month and history of being refractory to at least 2 antipsychotics taken appropriately.

Locations (1)

Universidade Federal de São Paulo

São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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