Perphenazine (Trilafon) Metabolism in Psychotic Patients

Introduction The discovery that chlorpromazine had marked therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of certain types of psychotic symptomatology stimulated the synthesis and clinical evaluation of many of its prototypes. A number of these have established places for themselves in psychiatric treatment. Comparative clinical studies have indicated differences in their sedative effects, potency (dosage), rapidity of action, and the incidence of neurological complications.1-4 The factors responsible for these differences are as yet largely unknown. In the attempts to obtain further insight into these areas, investigations of the metabolism of the individual phenothiazines have been initiated. Chlorpromazine has had the largest amount of study to date.5-12Despite this, relatively little is known as to its metabolic pathway. Other phenothiazine compounds have also been investigated, but the resultant knowledge is even more limited. Some of these have been levomepromazine,13promazine,14,15thioridazine,