No abstract

Twenty-four cocaine addicts who experienced withdrawal symptoms were studied for six weeks in a double-blind design. Half of the group received daily treatment with bromocriptine and the other half with placebo. Significant relief with bromocriptine was seen almost immediately and continued throughout the detoxification period. The authors speculate that the results are consistent with the "dopamine-depletion model" of cocaine withdrawal.

Three neuroleptics were used to treat phencyclidine (PCP) psychosis. These included chlorpromazine, a DA-1 and DA-2 dopamine antagonist with noradrenergic effects; haloperidol, a predominantly DA-2 antagonist with noradrenergic effects; and pimozide a predominantly DA-2 antagonist with no noradrenergic activity. Three cohorts of randomly selected young white adult males were studied. Responses to haloperidol and pimozide were statistically equivalent and both were significantly superior to chlorpromazine. These results further support the role of the DA-2 receptor in PCP psychosis and tend to rule out a noradrenergic role. The authors therefore suggest that DA-2 blockers, such as haloperidol or pimozide be employed as treatment of choice in PCP psychosis.