Treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Tetrabenazine and Reserpine: A case-study

Abstract

The patient (X) to be reported is a man now in his late twenties who is detained in a Special Hospital on a hospital order under s.37 coupled with a restriction order under s.41 of the 1983 Mental Health Act. He suffers from a chronic schizophrenic illness and had made no significant progress on conventional antipsychotic medication, Risperidone, or ECT. He had made considerable progress initially on Clozapine but subsequently refused compliance and thereafter when he did comply it was unsuccessful in reducing the level of active psychosis. With the introduction of Tetrabenazine, partial sustained improvement has now occurred. As Tetrabenazine has a related chemical structure to Reserpine, a brief review of the use of Tetrabenazine and Reserpine is appropriate.

Key Words:

• resistant schizophrenia
• Tetrabenazine
• Reserpine