Nicotinic acid therapy in chronic schizophrenia

The clinical changes in male veteran hospitalized chronic schizophrenic patients treated with nicotinic acid were investigated. Twenty-seven patients randomly selected from the available population completed the study; 14 of these were designated as experimental subjects and 13 constituted a control group. Nicotinic acid was given to the experimental subjects in the divided dosage of 3 g daily for 90 days. All subjects were interviewed at the beginning of the study and were seen every 3 weeks thereafter until its completion. A behavior rating scale designed by the authors, consisting of 22 items, was scored twice weekly by the attending nursing personnel. An effort was made to administer MMPI and ICL tests to all subjects before and upon completion of the study. The improvement was rated as worse, none, minimum, moderate, or marked.Two of 14 experimental subjects showed marked improvement in their behavior; 4 others showed minimal to moderate improvement; the remaining subjects either showed no change or mild deterioration of their conditions. In comparison, in the control group, only 1 subject showed marked improvement, 1 moderate, and the others either no change or mild deterioration. The better outcome in the exeprimental group compared to the control group was more apparent than real. This improvement was not considered significant because it was probably due to the unique features in the illness of the patient considered improved. In addition, inadvertent biases introduced in the study favored a better outcome in the experimental subjects. It was concluded that the value of nicotinic acid in the treatment of chronic schizophrenic patients is doubtful.