In 14 schizophrenic patients, treated with neuroleptic drugs, and in 7 patients, treated with high-dosage diazepam,
-endorphin-like immunoreactivity in plasma has been measured by use of a highly sensitive and relatively specific radioimmunoassay. Neuroleptic treatment induced a significant increase of
-endorphin-like immunoreactivity (
-ELI). The pharmacological and clinical implications of this finding are discussed. High-dosage diazepam treatment induces a slight reduction of plasma
-ELI, a finding which is attributed to antistress effect of diazepam.
Key words
-Endorphin - neuroleptic drugs - diazepam - schizophrenia
Supported by a grant (Heisenberg-Programm) of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.