Serum Prolactin Levels in Schizophrenia: Effects of Neuroleptic Medication - a Preliminary Study

Introduction The dopamine (DA) hypothesis of schizophrenia has gained much ground in the last decade. The emphasis on DA hypothesis of schizophrenia is based on the ability of the DA releasing agent, amphetamine, to mimic the clinical picture of paranoid schizophrenia (Snyder 1972; Carlsson 1978 and Crow 1982). Catecholamine precursor L Dopa also is known to produce symptoms of schizophrenia (Carlsson 1978). Although the role of DA in inducing schizophrenic symptoms is well accepted, there is so tar no direct support for a primary causative role of DA in schizophrenia. Studies in various laboratories have not provided any conclusive evidence in this nutter (Meltzer et al 1974, Carlsson 1978, Bird et d/1979, Crow 1982).