Possible Potentiation of Haloperidol Neurotoxicity in Acute Hyperthyroidism

Abstract
Altered thyroid states may influence the effects of psychotropic drugs. Prange (1963a) reported a case in which moderate factitious hyperthyroidism and Imipramine treatment seemed to interact to produce paroxysmal auricular tachycardia. Later, this author and his colleagues described increased lethality in imipramine in hyperthyroid mice (Prangeet al., 1962) and decreased lethality in hypothyroid mice (Prangeet al, 1963b). Similar effects have been found for phenothiazines (Ashfordet al., 1968). More recently it has been shown that a variety of physiological and behavioural effects of phenothiazines are amplified in hyperthyroid mice (Parket al., 1973). Furthermore, Selye and Szabo (1972) found that thyroxine sensitized the rat to the toxic effects of haloperidol.