Efficacy and Tolerability of Flunarizine for the Treatment of Schizophrenia: Comparison With Haloperidol

Is Flunarizine a Cheap, Well-Tolerated and Long-Acting Atypical Antipsychotic? A Randomized Double-Blind Flexible-Dose Clinical Trial Versus Haloperidol for the Treatment of Schizophrenia

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 4

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00740259

Enrollment

Registered

2008-08-22

Start date

2004-09-30

Completion date

2007-05-31

Last updated

2008-08-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Schizophrenia

Keywords

flunarizine, schizophrenia, antipsychotic

Brief summary

Flunarizine is a calcium channel blocker traditionally used for the treatment of vertigo and migraine. It also has the mechanism of action associated with antipsychotic activity (D2 receptor blockade), but has never been tested as such. The investigators hypothesis is that flunarizine can be an atypical antipsychotic.

Detailed description

The main advantage of flunarizine over other D2 receptor blockers is its long half-life, so that it may be administered weekly or may delay relapse if medication is interrupted.

Interventions

DRUGFlunarizine

For 1 week, 40 mg/day. From week 2 to 3, 20 mg/day. Form week 4 onwards, dosage increment or reduction of 10mg/day was allowed according to efficacy and tolerability.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 60 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* DSM-IV schizophrenic or schizoaffective patients between 18 and 55 years old with a PANSS score above 45.

Exclusion criteria

* Clinical disease * Pregnancy * Drug dependence (except for nicotine) in the past month and history of being refractory to at least 2 antipsychotics taken appropriately.

Countries

Brazil

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026