title: Effectiveness of the combination verapamil and chlorpromazine in the treatment of severe manic or mixed patients.
abstract: 1. The authors investigated the possible antimanic properties of a Calcium channel blocker, Verapamil, in 15 in-patients admitted consecutively to the female psychiatric ward at Pisa University for a manic episode. 2. The results showed that most of the patients presented a global improvement of the manic symptoms and, in some cases, even a complete clinical remission. 3. Although it was necessary to add chlorpromazine for the severe conditions of several patients, verapamil appeared to speed the positive outcome and to lead to a faster resolution of the symptoms. In addition, the association of verapamil and chlorpromazine did not produce any relevant side-effect. These preliminary findings thus indicate that verapamil by itself does not seem to be sufficient in the treatment of a severe affective episode, but it may constitute an alternative to lithium salts in association with neuroleptics.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lenzi
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marazziti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raffaelli
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Cassano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D002746:Chlorpromazine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014700:Verapamil / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014700:Verapamil; D002746:Chlorpromazine