Effects of chronic neuroleptic administration on the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis of male schizophrenics

1. The authors investigated the effects of long-term neuroleptic administration on the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis of regularly medicated schizophrenic male patients. 2. The subjects were 56 patients who were diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia. Each patient gave informed consent for the research involved in this study. Based on the dosages of neuroleptics, the subjects were classified into two age-matched groups: those with lower dosages (LD) and those with higher dosages (HD). 3. (1) The mean level of the blood testosterone (T) in the LD group was significantly lower than that in the normal group, although the level was within normal range. There was no significant difference in the mean level of the blood T for the HD and the normal groups, or for the HD and the LD groups. (2) There was no significant difference in the mean levels of the blood luteinizing hormone between all groups. (3) Also, there was no significant difference in the mean levels of the blood follicle-stimulating hormone between the groups. (4) The mean levels of the blood prolactin in both the LD and HD groups were significantly higher than that in the normal subjects, but there was no significant difference between the LD and HD schizophrenics. 4. Overall, these results seem to indicate that (i) in male patients with chronic schizophrenia, HPG function is impaired, and (ii) chronic neuroleptic medication stimulates the HPG axis in schizophrenic patients with impaired HPG function.