Effect of buflomedil hydrochlorde on regional cerebral blood flow in different subtypes of schizophrenia

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect ofbuflomedil hydrochlorde on regional cerebral blood flow in different subtypes of schizophrenia.Methods Two hundred and eighty-six patient met the diagnostic criteria of CCMD-3 for schizophrenia,admitted to our hospital from February 2007 to February 2009,were chosen in our study; patients of type Ⅰ (n=86),type Ⅱ (n=63) and type Ⅲ (n=137)were randomly divided into treatment group of type Ⅰ (n=46),placebo treatment group of type Ⅰ (n=40),treatment group of type Ⅱ (n=34),placebo treatment group of type Ⅱ (n=29),treatment group of type Ⅲ(n=72) and placebo treatment group of type Ⅲ (n=65).Patients from the treatment groups were treated with antipsychotics with buflomedil hydrochloride and those from placebo treatment groups were given antipsychotics with saline for 4 weeks.On the 1st day and at the end of the 4th week of treatment,cerebral blood flows of bilateral anterior cerebral artery,middle cerebral artery,posterior cerebral artery,vertebral artery and basilar arterywere were measured by transcranial Doppler (TCD).Results No statistically significant difference of cerebral blood flow was noted between the two groups of type Ⅰ before/after treatment,neither between before and after treatment in one of the groups (P＞0.05).For type Ⅱ schizophrenia,no statistically significant difference of cerebral blood flow was noted between the two groups on the 1st day of treatment (P＞0.05); however,at the end of 4th week of treatment,cerebral blood flow in the bilateral anterior cerebral artery,middle cerebral artery,posterior cerebral artery blood of the treatment group were significant greater than that in the placebo treatment group (P＜0.05); the cerebral blood flow in the bilateral anterior cerebral artery,middle cerebral artery,posterior cerebral artery blood of the treatment group at the end of 4th week of treatment was significantly higher than that on the 1 st day of treatment (P＜0.05),while no significant difference was noted in the placebo treatment group (P＞0.05).For type Ⅲ schizophrenia,at the end of 4th week of treatment,the cerebral blood flow in the treatment group in the left anterior cerebral artery,the left middle cerebral artery and right middle cerebral artery were significant greater than that in the placebo treatment group (P＜0.05); and that of the bilateral anterior cerebral artery and middle cerebral artery in the treatment group at the end of 4th week of treatment was significantly greater than that on the 1st day of treatment (P＜0.05).Conclusions Different subtypes of schizophrenia enjoys different cerebral blood flows:most significant decline in cerebral blood flow and largest number of cerebral arteries of type Ⅱ schizophrenia are noted,followed by type Ⅲ schizophrenia;cerebral blood flow of schizophrenia maybe have an order to decline and the left middle cerebral artery maybe the first; the changes of cerebral blood flow between before and after treatment show that the decline of cerebral blood flow can be inverted with drugs. Key words: Schizophrenia;  Buflomedil hydrochloride;  Transcranial Doppler;  Cerebral blood flow