Effective Adjunctive Use of Pergolide for Cognitive Impairment and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia

Effective Adjunctive Use of Pergolide With Risperidone for Cognitive Impairment and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia

Dopamine has been closely associated with prefrontal function. The hypothesis that a lower dopaminergic activity is associated with negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunction observed in the patients of schizophrenia is of a heuristic value in guiding research in this area. This hypothesis led us to test whether pergolide, a D1/D2 agonist, could improve negative symptoms and cognitive impairments prevailing in most patients with schizophrenia. This double-blind placebo controlled study will investigate the remedial effect of pergolide on negative symptoms and cognitive impairments in schizophrenia.

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients

• Were age 18-50 years, met the DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia
• Were treated with a stable dose of risperidone, raging 2 to 6mg, for more than 8 weeks
• Had a score ≥15 on negative subscale items in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)
• Had a minimum period of symptom stability, defined as no more than 20% change on consecutive ratings on PANSS for at lease 4 weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

• Had a history of medical condition or drug treatment that may have affected cognitive performance
• Had a history of other psychiatric disorders