Effects of Selegiline on Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: A Double-Blind Clinical Trial

This research was carried out with the aim of examining the effects of selegiline, a monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor with dopaminergic features, on the treatment of patients with schizophrenia with prominent negative symptoms. In a clinical trial, 80 inpatients at the Hejazi Hospital in Meshed, who were diagnosed with schizophrenia based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria, and had prominent negative symptoms (a score of over 15 in Positive and Negative Symptom Scale [PANSS]) entered the study. The patients were randomly divided into three groups: Patients receiving 5mg selegiline, patients receiving 10mg selegiline, and those receiving placebo along with an antipsychotic drug. The patients were then followed-up for six weeks using PANSS and Drug Side Effects Test. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and t-test. Eight patients were excluded from the study due to an increase in psychotic symptoms and four were excluded because of drug side effects. Mean age of patients was 47.6 and the mean duration of hospitalization was 8.9 years. Even though there was an improvement in negative symptoms in both groups receiving selegiline, the difference between the groups receiving selegiline and the group receiving placebo was not significant. Selegiline is not superior to placebo in reducing negative symptoms in hospitalized patients.