L-Dopa and Schizophrenia

Abstract

Previous reports have emphasized the deterioration of schizophrenic patients when given L-Dopa. The authors described a patient with long-standing catatonic schizophrenia who was not helped by conventional therapies but initially responded dramatically to L-Dopa. Placebo substitution resulted in worsening of her condition but restarting the L-Dopa did not bring about any change, in spite of combining this with a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor. The authors postulate that the effects seen in this patient may be related to the general activating effect of increased brain dopamine.