Chemotherapy in child psychiatry

Abstract

The discovery of the so-called psychopharmaceutical drugs led to remarkable progress both in the theory and in the practice of general psychiatry. Before discussing the use of these drugs in the child it is, I think, worthwhile to review our present-day knowledge of their properties and uses. There are three main classes of psychopharmaceutical drugs.1Firstly, “true” neuroleptics, which are active in mania, and in acute and (to a lesser extent) chronic schizophrenia, and in states of agitation. These include the phenothiazines, reserpine, and butyrophenones (haloperidol and similar compounds). A fourth type of drug, sulpiride (Dogmatil), is unusual in combining neuroleptic and antidepressant properties. The second class of psychopharmaceutical drugs comprise the antidepressants of which there are two main groups—the tricyclic antidepressants (imipramine and closely related compounds) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Their main clinical target is melancholia and, to a lesser extent, neurotic depression. Thirdly, anxiolytics or “true” tranquillizers (I consider the use of this word for the whole range of psychopharmaceuticals as inappropriate), which again are subdivided. © 1972, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.