Improvement by amisulpride of the negative syndrome in non-psychotic subjects : a preliminary study

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Abstract
Summary The target for the efficacy of energizing neuroleptics on negative symptoms in schizophrenic patients may be the schizophrenic illness itself, or the existence ol a subgroup of negative symptoms. We searched for a non-psychotic population presenting a negative syndrome. A group of patients complaining of loss of interest, anhedonia, anergia, fatigue but with no painful mood, who did not meet the criteria for primary depression (Feighner 1972) and who had never presented psychotic symptoms seemed appropriate to answer this question. We Present here the results of a double-blind therapeutic trial in 93 outpatients, comparing the effects of 2 dosages of amisulpride, a neuroleptic of the benzamide substitute group, with a placebo. In these non-psychotic subjects, the 50 mg daily dose produced a significantly greater improvement in the negative syndrome than the placebo, and a non-significant intermediary improvement with the dose of 100 mg. The encouraging results must nevertheless be interpreted witli prudence, and confirmed by further studies due to the high number of drop-outs in the 50 mg group. This resuit indicates a transnosological effect of energizing neuroleptics on negative symptoms.