Evaluation of trifluperidol in chronic schizophrenia
Trifluperidol, a new butyrophenone compound, was evaluated in chronic schizophrenic women under conditions of a controlled clinical trial. Within this framework significant drug effects associated with the standard drug, chlorpromazine, attested to the sensitivity of the experiment, while trifluperidol, the experimental drug, was shown to be an antipsychotic agent at least equally as effective as the standard. The placebo group tended to deteriorate on all measures. This trend did not differ significantly from a similar trend in a group of subjects receiving neither placebo nor active treatment. The most likely explanation for this deterioration is thought to be an inadequate preliminary dry-out period, although other influences affecting all subjects adversely can not be ruled out. The demonstration of significant drug:placebo differences was dependent in part upon the presence of the negative change in the placebo group. Failure to include a control group in the present study would have precluded the demonstration of statistically significant drug effects.