Schizophrenia drug gains FDA approval.Schizophrenia drug gains FDA approval The Food and Drug Administration last week approved a drug for treating severe schizophrenics schiz·o·phren·ic (sk  t s -fr n who fail to respond to standard antipsychotic antipsychotic /an·ti·psy·chot·ic/ (-si-kot´ik) effective in the treatment of psychotic disorders; also, an agent that so acts. Antipsychotics are a chemically diverse but pharmacologically similar class of drugs; besides psychotic disorders, some are also used to treat movement disorders, intractable hiccups, or severe nausea and vomiting. medications. The action followed detailed review of a study in which nearly one-third of formerly untreatable schizophrenics given the drug clozapine clozapine /clo·za·pine/ (klo´zah-pen) a sedative and antipsychotic agent; used in the treatment of schizophrenia.clo·za·pine (kl  at hospitals throughout the United States improved markedly (SN: 5/23/87, p. 324). "The severity and hopelessness of chronic schizophrenia was an important factor in the decision to approve clozapine," says FDA Commissioner Frank E. Young. Because about 1 percent of those given clozapine develop agranulocytosis agranulocytosis /agran·u·lo·cy·to·sis/ (a-gran?u-lo-si-to´sis) a symptom complex characterized by decreased granulocytes and by lesions of the throat, other mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract, and skin; most cases are complications of drug therapy, radiation, or exposure to chemicals. -- a potentially fatal drop in infection-fighting white blood cells -- the FDA says physicians can prescribe the drug only for patients who have not responded to at least two standard antipsychotic drugs. Clozapine can also cause seizures, but it rarely produces the severe movement disorders associated with standard antipsychotic drugs (SN: 7/20/85, p. 45). About 200,000 people in the United States are candidates for clozapine treatment, according to the FDA. Clozapine, like other antipsychotic drugs, does not cure schizophrenia. Among patients who improved in the study, however, it reduced hallucinations haptic hallucination tactile h. kinesthetic hallucination a hallucination involving the sense of bodily movement. somatic hallucination a hallucination involving the perception of a physical experience with the body. hypnagogic hallucination one occurring just at the onset of sleep. , delusions bizarre delusion one that is patently absurd, with no possible basis in fact. delusion of control the delusion that one's thoughts, feelings, and actions are not one's own but are being imposed by someone else or other external force. depressive delusion one that is congruent with a predominant depressed mood. , disordered thinking, social withdrawal and apathy. Those individuals can now leave the hospitals to enter community rehabilitation programs. Schizophrenics who receive clozapine must participate in a special testing program. A home health care company will deliver the medication to patients each week and collect blood samples for analysis by a national laboratory. If early signs of agranulocytosis show up, the laboratory will notify the patient's physician immediately. The medication will be sold under the trade name Clozaril Clo·za·ril (kl  z-rl by Sandoz Pharmaceutical Corp. of East Hanover, N.J.
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