3H-spiperone binding capacity in mononuclear cells: a family study.

1. A family study was carried out using a putative biological vulnerability trait in families of schizophrenics and schizoaffective indexprobands to investigate, if the clinical phenotype and a biological marker for schizophrenia are cosegregating within families. 2. The binding capacity of the dopamine antagonist spiperone to mononuclear cells was investigated in 21 indexprobands and a total of 147 first and second degree relatives. 3. Increased binding capacity could be found in 17 indexprobands and in their affected relatives, independently from clinical diagnosis and in 22% of their normal relatives. 4. No increased binding capacity was found in 4 indexprobands and in their affected relatives and not n any of the unaffected relatives. These results indicate, that increased spiperone binding may cosegregate with the risk for functional psychoses and that families, loaded with psychiatric disturbances may be distinguished on a biological basis.

[Adverse effects of long-term psychopharmacologic therapy on sexual functions]. / Unerwünschte Wirkungen psychopharmakologischer Langzeittherapie auf die sexuellen Funktionen.

103 patients who were in a psychopathologically relatively stable condition and under long-term psycho-pharmacological treatment on an outpatient basis, were questioned on sexual functional disorders and changes in sexual behaviour, basing on a semistructured interview. This is of particular importance with regard to compliance problems in long-term therapy. 50% of the patients stated that there had been changes from the beginning of the psychiatric disorders, mostly as functional sexual disorders (42%). Multifactorial causes were presumed in most of the cases; the medication was thought to be solely responsible in only 15% of all the cases (expert rating). Schizophrenic patients under neuroleptic treatment were most frequently affected by functional disturbances. In some of the patients of the total random sample (36 patients) medication was changed under experimental conditions for a period of four weeks. Improvement of the sexual function was most frequently stated whenever a medication was given with a reduced dosage; however, the examined partial random sample is very small.