Abstract
Based on the early reports of the successful treatment of depressive states with chlorpromazine, 47 voluntarily hospitalized psychiatric patients referred for drug therapy, were randomly assigned to one of three treatment regimens. Sixteen depressive patients received imipramine, 11 placebo and 20 a combination of chlorpromazine and procyclidine in a six-week, fixed dosage schedule.
On clinical behavioural ratings, both the chlorpromazine-procyclidine combination and imipramine had significantly better therapeutic results than placebo.
These observations are consistent with earlier reports that the treatment of depressive disorders with chlorpromazine may be enhanced by the addition of an antiparkinsonian anticholinergic agent. It appears clear that agitated depressions may be effectively treated with chlorpromazine-procyclidine. Further data is required to evaluate this treatment for retarded depressions.