Negative Signs and Symptoms Secondary to Antipsychotics: A Double-Blind, Randomized Trial of a Single Dose of Placebo, Haloperidol, and Risperidone in Healthy Volunteers Juan Francisco Artaloytia, M.D. Objective: Despite the clinical observa-
tion that antipsychotics can produce neg-
Celso Arango, M.D.
ative symptom scales: the Subjective Def-
icit Syndrome Scale total score and an an-
this action in healthy subjects. The present
Adrienne Lahti, M.D. Javier Sanz, M.D. Ana Pascual, M.D.
chiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the SANS, the
Method: The authors used a double-
blind, placebo-controlled trial of single
Pedro Cubero, M.D.
score, and the analog scale for subjective
done (2.5 mg) in normal subjects. Thirty-
drowsiness, risperidone but not haloperi-
David Prieto, M.Sc.
than placebo on the BPRS and the SANS. Tomás Palomo, M.D.
after 3–4 hours and subjective negativesymptoms and drowsiness after 24 hours. Conclusions: Single doses of both halo- Results: N ei t he r o f t he a ct i ve dru gs (Am J Psychiatry 2006; 163:488–493)
Since the therapeutic effects of antipsychotics were been applied to address this issue. On one hand, primary
first discovered, it has been clear that they produce unde-
negative symptoms have been defined as observer-rated
sirable as well as target effects, some of which are difficult
negative symptoms that cannot be explained by positive
to distinguish from the negative symptoms of schizophre-
symptoms, depressive symptoms, or antipsychotic-pro-
nia (1–5). Motor side effects can mimic negative symp-
duced motor extrapyramidal symptoms. Statistical tech-
toms, as well as nonmotor type effects, including indiffer-
niques have evolved from simpler, correlational, and cova-
ence, apathy, and avolition. These effects have been more
riant strategies (11–13) to more sophisticated ones, such
frequently described in patient self-reports than in obser-
as path analysis (8, 9, 14). The unexplained variance is in-
vations made by clinicians. These drug-induced side ef-
terpreted as a direct treatment effect on primary negative
fects are difficult to distinguish from primary or othersources of secondary negative symptoms (6, 7).
symptoms. However, there are also other sources of sec-ondary negative symptoms, and nonmotor effects of an-
Both first- and second-generation antipsychotics re-
duce negative symptom ratings in schizophrenia. Several
tipsychotics could be considered primary negative symp-
studies (8, 9) have reported higher efficacy in negative
toms. Therefore, to deal with this, some investigators use a
symptoms with second-generation antipsychotics than
clinically defined and rated condition called the “deficit
with haloperidol; however, the differential effect may be
syndrome.” To be categorized as such, all known sources
lost when low doses of haloperidol are used (10).
of secondary negative symptoms have to be ruled out, and
The effect of antipsychotics on primary negative symp-
the negative symptoms have to be long-lasting, with a lon-
toms is more controversial. Two general approaches have
ARTALOYTIA, ARANGO, LAHTI, ET AL.
Negative symptoms are easy to measure in schizophre-
way to rate motor extrapyramidal symptoms, in correlation with
nia patients but difficult to attribute to a precise source. To
dopamine D2 receptor occupancy (25).
clarify these ambiguities, we studied healthy subjects free
Observer-Rated Negative Symptoms
of any psychiatric symptoms. We assessed all negative
Negative symptoms were assessed with 1) the Brief Psychiatric
symptoms in healthy subjects in response to single doses
Rating Scale (BPRS) (26) negative symptoms subscale and 2) the
of haloperidol or risperidone in a double-blind, placebo-
Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) (27) alo-
controlled trial. We quantified the subjective experiences
gia and affect flattening items. Alogia and affective flattening were
of treated individuals as well as the observed effects. Ac-
selected from the other items because they appear in several fac-
cording to our hypothesis, haloperidol would cause the
tor analyses in the negative syndrome, and they do not require afull week of observation. Instead of referring to illness during the
most negative symptoms as measured by observer-rated
interview, because the participants did not have schizophrenia,
and subjective measures and placebo the least.
they were asked to talk about their most recent holidays. Both ofthe raters were psychiatrists (J.F.A. and J.S.). Interrater reliability
scores (intercorrelation coefficients) for the two raters on thesescales were between 0.80 and 0.92 for each BPRS item, each of thetwo SANS items, and the Simpson-Angus Rating Scale and Barnes
Subjects
Rating Scale for Drug-Induced Akathisia total scores. All four in-
The subjects were recruited from advertisements placed in the
terviews (baseline and after administration of the placebo and
Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre in Madrid and met the fol-
the two drugs) were videotaped, and the raters made a consensus
lowing criteria: ages 18 to 60 years, no psychiatric disorder ac-
rating after watching the taped interviews.
cording to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV for nor-mal volunteers, not receiving psychotropic drugs, no drug or
Subjective Negative Symptoms
alcohol abuse or dependence (except for nicotine), and no other
The Subjective Deficit Syndrome Scale was applied (28). This
relevant medical condition. The hospital’s ethical committee for
scale asks subjects to rate, from 0 to 4, aspects regarding lack of
research with humans approved the research protocol. Written
energy, blunted affect, and difficulty in or altered thinking, in-
informed consent was obtained from all subjects after we fully ex-
cluding, “Do you tire easily (complaints about excessive fatigue)?”
“Have you lost the ability to feel emotions (apathy)?” “Do youhave problems concentrating (subjective problems with concen-
Design
tration)?” An analog scale (29) of subjective negative symptoms
A within-subject design was carried out with haloperidol and
was also developed based on Huber’s basic symptoms (30) (the
risperidone. Each participant was interviewed and rated four
scale is available upon request from the first author). Both scales
times. The first interview established baseline variables (with
handwriting and a videotaped interview). The subsequent threeinterviews were identical and were performed after double-blind
Drowsiness
random assignment of the sequence with which placebo, halo-
This concept is defined on the basis of Lewander’s consider-
peridol, and risperidone were to be administered.
ation of sedation, which distinguishes between a more generalsomnolence effect versus a more lethargic effect (4). An analog
Procedure
scale (29) was developed to measure the sedative or somnolent
Because of ethical considerations, only single low doses of the
effect. These scales present a line with two ends; each end ex-
substances were administered in liquid formulations of placebo,
presses a specific maximum and minimum for the variable being
haloperidol (5 mg), or risperidone (2.5 mg). Water and lemon ex-
evaluated. The subject is asked to make a mark on the line repre-
tract were added to the substances to ensure double-blind condi-
senting how he or she feels. (The scale is available upon request
tions (18). The 2.5-mg dose of risperidone was chosen as the
from the first author.) This variable was considered a possible
equivalent of 5 mg of haloperidol (19, 20).
confounding factor in the rating of observer-rated and self-rated
The baseline assessments were repeated at two different time
points. The first evaluation (clinician-rated scales) was made atthe time the substances reached their highest plasma level (T
Data Analysis
Tmax for haloperidol is 1.7–6.1 hours (21); it is 0.8 hour (SD=0.3)
A balanced crossover experimental design was used, with the
for risperidone, and 3.2 hours (SD=1.5) for its active metabolite 9-
three treatments and six possible sequences of administration to
hydroxyrisperidone (22). Therefore, ratings were performed be-
address the issue of treatment order. Five individuals were ran-
tween 3 and 4 hours after administration for the first assessment.
The second assessment (self-rated scales) was performed 24
Data were analyzed as usual in this type of design with re-
hours after administration and assessed cumulative subjective
peated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and treatment
experiences over the previous 24 hours. The minimum washout
and order of administration as fixed factors. The overall null hy-
period between administrations was 48 hours based on half-lives
pothesis (placebo=haloperidol=risperidone) was tested for each
of haloperidol (14.5–36.7 hours) (21), risperidone (mean=2.8
outcome measured by using a continuous variable. If this null hy-
hours, SD=0.5), and 9-hydroxyrisperidone (mean=20.5 hours,
pothesis was rejected, pairwise tests of the differences between
treatments (haloperidol versus placebo, risperidone versus pla-cebo, and risperidone versus haloperidol) were then performed
Motor Signs
with Student’s t test with Bonferroni correction. When the out-
Parkinsonism and akathisia were evaluated with standardized
come was measured with a noncontinuous variable (Barnes Rat-
scales: the Simpson-Angus Rating Scale (23) and the Barnes Rat-
ing Scale for Drug-Induced Akathisia, the Simpson-Angus Rating
ing Scale for Drug-Induced Akathisia (24), respectively. Handwrit-
Scale, or the SANS), only pairwise comparisons were made be-
ing was evaluated as another variable of motor outcome. De-
cause the number of observations was insufficient to guarantee
creased handwriting area has been described as a more precise
the requirements of the overall test. NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS TABLE 1. Descriptive Characteristics of 32 Healthy Subjects Given Placebo, Haloperidol, and Risperidone Individually
Barnes Rating Scale for Drug-Induced Akathisia
Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms
a Negative handwriting values meant larger letters than positive handwriting values. TABLE 2. Differences Between Treatments in Motor Signs and Negative Symptoms of 32 Healthy Subjects Given Placebo, Haloperidol, and Risperidone Individuallya
a ANOVA was not applied to the Simpson-Angus Rating Scale or the SANS. No analysis was performed for the Barnes Ratings Scale for Drug-
Induced Akathisia because only three patients rated a 1 on this scale (two subjects taking haloperidol and one taking risperidone).
A significance level of 0.05 was established. Some outcomes
shown in Table 1 and Table 2. As for motor symptoms, one
that might be affected by drowsiness, specifically observer- and
subject reported acute buccolingual dystonia 20 hours af-
self-rated negative symptoms, were included in the model as co-
ter receiving haloperidol. No significant differences were
variates. To rule out any possible confounding effect of other epi-demiological variables (gender, age, smoking status, level of edu-
detected between drugs for the Simpson-Angus Rating
cation, or body mass index), we applied ANOVA and chi-square
Scale score or the handwriting area. No analysis was per-
tests to be sure that they were not correlated with the sequence of
formed for the Barnes Rating Scale for Drug-Induced
Akathisia because only three patients rated a 1 on thisscale (two subjects taking haloperidol and one taking ris-
peridone). The participants taking risperidone scored sig-
Thirty-two subjects entered the study. Thirty subjects
nificantly higher on the BPRS negative symptoms sub-
completed it; one person dropped out voluntarily,
scale than those receiving placebo; likewise, th e
whereas another was eliminated after suffering a hypoten-
individuals receiving haloperidol or risperidone scored
sive episode with risperidone. Of the completer group, 17
significantly higher on the SANS items versus those re-
were women and 13 were men; the mean age was 32.4
ceiving placebo. The participants taking haloperidol or
years (SD=10.5, range=18–58). Ten of the completers were
risperidone scored significantly higher on the two self-
smokers. Mean education in years was 17.1 (SD=1.6,
rated scales than those receiving placebo (Table 1 and Ta-
range=12–18). Body mass index was 24.7 kg/m2 (SD=7.1,
ble 2). The subjects scored significantly higher on drowsi-
range=18.8–38.1). The variables were homogeneously dis-
ness after taking either haloperidol or risperidone versus
tributed in the different groups and randomly assigned to
those receiving placebo; in a comparison of the two
the different sequences of drug administration. No signifi-
drugs, they scored higher with risperidone than with ha-
cant differences attributable to the order of administra-
loperidol (Table 1 and Table 2). After control for drowsi-
tion were detected for any of the variables.
ness, only those taking risperidone scored significantly
Descriptive characteristics and differences between
higher than those receiving placebo on the BPRS and
treatments, before and after control for drowsiness, are
SANS negative symptom items (Table 2). ARTALOYTIA, ARANGO, LAHTI, ET AL.
toms by different second-generation antipsychotics. Inthese studies, antipsychotic-induced “nonmotor” nega-
tive symptoms could have been considered primary nega-
tive symptoms. The estimates of effect size for the medica-
tion-induced negative symptoms found in the present
study could be useful in evaluating findings from pharma-
cological trials of agents that target negative symptoms.
Some authors (4) give definitions for unspecific seda-
tion (drowsiness) and specific sedation (Rifkin’s akinesia,
which we have called negative signs and symptoms sec-
ondary to antipsychotics) that clearly differentiate themconceptually. Nonetheless, we find it complicated to dis-tinguish between them in this manner. In fact, in thepresent study, subjective negative symptoms scales couldnot clearly distinguish between drowsiness and negative
signs and symptoms secondary to antipsychotics. The in-
formation provided by these scales must be questioned
until they can distinguish more clearly between these two
factors. This idea receives strong support from data fromvarious authors and clinical descriptions. The point is
clarified further by Laborit’s description:
The patients required less analgesics and, at the
same time, had an unusual state of consciousness in
that they were readily aroused but seemed uncon-
cerned with the environmental situation. (1)
and by an unprompted written report by one of our sub-
I feel slow but not sleepy. During the interview I feel
clumsy, and I want to finish as soon as possible (it’sdifficult for me to explain what is happening to me). Discussion
Drowsiness was also used as a possible confounding fac-
The results of the current study indicate that single-dose
tor in the rating of observer-rated negative symptoms
administration of both haloperidol and risperidone pro-
scales (BPRS and SANS). Albeit to a lesser degree than the
duces negative symptoms in healthy volunteers, accord-
“subjective” scales in our study, these scales were also af-
ing to both clinician-rated and self-report scales. Neither
fected to the point of rendering insignificant the difference
of the drugs produced significant motor extrapyramidal
between haloperidol and placebo. However, the differ-
symptoms, as measured by the Simpson-Angus Rating
ences between risperidone and placebo remained signifi-
Scale or the handwriting area, based on the findings of this
cant. Drowsiness is hardly ever controlled in the statistical
single-dose study. Negative symptoms were found in the
approaches used to demonstrate the effect of drugs on pri-
absence of a detectable motor extrapyramidal compo-
mary negative symptoms. Moreover, high doses of benzo-
nent. In the case of risperidone, negative symptoms were
diazepines can provoke drowsiness, and this factor might
also independent of a sedative effect.
be confounded with observer-rated negative symptoms.
Treatment-induced nonmotor negative symptoms are
An interpretation of the differences between haloperi-
not taken into account in studies in which primary nega-
dol and risperidone depends on their equivalent doses.
tive symptoms are defined as observer-rated negative
Several studies have suggested that the doses chosen in
symptoms that cannot be explained by positive, depres-
the present study were equipotential. The 1997 APA guide-
sive, and motor symptoms (8, 9, 14). Because our normal
lines (19) indicated that a 1–2-mg dose of risperidone
comparison subjects lacked any initial psychopathology,
equals a 2-mg dose of haloperidol and that haloperidol
the drug-induced nature of these symptoms is clear. Thus,
may require doses double those of risperidone. Schotte et
we can say that the symptoms are “nonmotor” negative
al. (20) measured the occupancy of central neurotransmit-
symptoms secondary to antipsychotics. In the studies
ter receptors by haloperidol and risperidone in an ex vivo
cited (8, 9, 14), unexplained variance is interpreted as a di-
quantitative autoradiography. Doses of 0.048 mg/kg of ha-
rect treatment effect exerted on primary negative symp-
loperidol and 0.11 mg/kg of risperidone were needed to
NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS
induce 25% D2 receptor occupancy in the caudate-puta-
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men. However, other studies have supported equivalent
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Our study group consisted of healthy individuals receiv-
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Received Sept. 5, 2004; revisions received Dec. 4, 2004, and May 17,
merfelt A, Carpenter WT Jr: Effects of clozapine on positive and
2005; accepted May 27, 2005. From the Hospital Universitario 12 de
negative symptoms in outpatients with schizophrenia. Am J
Octubre, Madrid; the Department of Psychiatry, Hospital General Uni-versitario Gregorio Marañón; the Maryland Psychiatric Research Cen-
ter, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore; and the De-
17. Buchanan RW, Breier A, Kirkpatrick B, Ball P, Carpenter WT Jr:
partment of Health Sciences, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid. Address
Positive and negative symptom response to clozapine in
correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Arango, Departamento
schizophrenic patients with and without the deficit syndrome.
de Psiquiatría, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, C/
Ibiza, 43, 28009 Madrid, Spain; carango@mce.hggm.es (e-mail).
18. Supplementary Drugs and Other Substances. London, Pharma-
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ceutical Press (Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain),
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Bibliografía sobre Tartamudez publicada en las principales revistas científicas de habla inglesa durante el año 2002 Adeyoju, AB, Olujohungbe, ABK, Morris, J, et al. (2002). Priapism in sickle-cell disease; incidence, risk factors and complications - an international multicentre study. BJU INT 90 (9): 898-902 DEC Ambrose, NG, Yairi, E (2002). The Tudor Study: Data and ethics.
Merkblatt: Prostatakrebs Früherkennung Prof. Dr. med. Franz Recker, Chefarzt Urologie Aarau Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Gasser, Chefarzt Urologie Kantonsspital Liestal Prostatakrebs ist die häufigste Krebsart des Mannes und kann die Lebensqualität einschränken und sogar tödlich sein Prostatakrebs kann diagnostiziert werden bevor es zu Beschwerden kommt. Nur frühzeitig entdeckter Pr