Thomas A. Ban
Neuropsychopharmacology in Historical Perspective
Education in the Field in the Post-Neuropsychopharmacology Era

Toxicity and Adverse Reaction Studies with Neuroleptics and Antidepressants
Bulletin 25

 

Preamble

            Publication of Thomas A. Ban and Andre St. Jean’s paper on “The effect of phenothiazines onthe electrocardiogram” in the Canadian Medical Association Journal 1964; 91: 537-40, and Thomas A.Ban and Heinz E. Lehmann’s paper on “Skin pigmentation, a rare side effect ofchlorpromazine,” in the Canadian Medical Association Journal April 1965; 10: 112-24, werefollowed up by meetings (symposia) in 1965 organized by the Quebec Psychopharmacologica ResearchAssociation (QPRA). The papers presented in these meetings were published by the QPRA in the same year in a volume Toxicity and Adverse Reaction Studies with Psychotropic Drugs, edited by Heinz E. Lehmann and Thomas A. Ban.

 

Heinz E. Lehmann and Thomas A. Ban, editors

Toxicity and Adverse Reaction Studies with Neuroleptics and Antidepressants

Montreal: Quebec Psychopharmacological Research Association; 1965 (184 pages)

(inhn.org.books. June 19, 2014)

 

            “Toxicity and Adverse Reaction Studies with Neuroleptics and Antidepressants”is based on papers presented at three meetings of the Quebec Psychopharmacological Research Association. The first, on Toxicity (chaired by E. Kingstone), was held on March 22, 1965, at the Allan Memorial Institute, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; the  second, on Skin Pigmentation and the Phenothiazines (chaired by A.S. McPherson),on April 30, 1965, at the DouglasHospital, in Verdun, Quebec; and the third, on Electroencephalographic Changes with Psychoactive Drugs (chaired by A. St.Jean),on June 4, 1965, at Hôpital – des – Laurentides, in L’Annonciation, Quebec.Accordingly, the book is divided into three corresponding parts: Toxicity, edited byKingstone; Skin Pigmentation and the Phenothiazines, edited by A.S. McPherson; and Electrocardiographic Changes with Psychoactive Drugs, edited by A. St. Jean.

            In Part One,“toxicitystudy requirements”prior to the introduction of a psychoactive drug into clinical investigations and use are reviewed:from the “Pharmacologists Viewpoint” (J. Brodeur), the “Clinical Pharmacologists Viewpoint” (L. Joubert)and the “Legal Aspects”(R.W. Shepherd and W. Murphy). The three papers of Part One are preceded by an “Introduction” (A.S. McPherson),followed by a “General Summary”(A.S. McPherson)and a “Bibliography” that lists 11 references.

            In Part Two, skin pigmentationencountered bychronic phenothiazine- (primarily chlorpromazine) treated patients are discussed. From among the 17papers, the first deals with the “Incidence” of skin pigmentation in phenothiazine treated patients (G. Marier) and the secondreviews “Experience at Douglas Hospital” (DH) with skin pigmented patients (T. Ban). All patientswith skin pigmentation at Douglas Hospital were studied by a team of medical specialists and the findings of these studies were presented in nine reports: (1) “Dermatological Aspects” (W. Gerstein);(2) “Ophthalmological Aspects”(K. Adams); (3) “Neurological Aspects” (M. Vulpe);(4) “Electroencephalographic Aspects” (H.F. Muller); (5) “Electrocardiographic Aspects” (J. Ballon); (6) “Hematological Aspects” (J. Blustein); (7) “Gastroenterological Aspects“ (H. Warnes); (8) “Bronchopulmonary, Genito-urinary and Endocrinological Aspects” (D. Findlay); and (9) “Clinical Aspects” (H.Lee, H.E. Lehmann and T.A.Ban).Ofthe remaining six papers, one is a“Psychiatrist’s Comment” (D.R. Gunn) on skin pigmentation;another deals with “Chlorpromazine metabolism” (I.S. Forrest);a third is a report on a possible “Therapy” (B.A. Gibard) of skin pigmentation;a fourth, presents “Post-mortem findings” (N. Kerenyi);a fifth addresses the “Histogenesis” (G. Rona) of increased melanin production;and thesixth describes findings on the “Distribution of chlorpromazine in animal eyes” (H.Green and T.Ellison).The 17 papers are preceded by an “Introduction” (A.S. McPherson), followed by a “General Summary” (A.S. McPherson) and a “Bibliography” that lists 52 references.

            In Part Three “electrocardiographic changes with psychoactive drugs” with special emphasis on thioridazine-induced conductance changes in the ECG are discussed. From the nine papers of Part Three, two are literature reviews: “Neuroleptic drugs and the ECG” (E. Kingstone) and “Antidepressants and the ECG” (B. Lavallee); three are reports on ECG findings in “Studies with phenothiazines” (P.B. Roy, A. St.Jean, S. Desautels), “Studies with Thioridazine” (A. St.Jean, S. Desautels, J. Ballon and T.A. Ban) and“Experiments with Thioridazine” (M.H. Wendkos);two are notes on ECG changes with “amitriptyline, haloperidol and thioproperazine” (A. St.Jean and T.A.Ban), andwith “butaperazine and haloperidol” (H.E.Lehmann, T.A. Ban, H. Warnes and H.Lee); and one is an account of  “A pharmacological study” on the possible anti-arrhythmic effect of some phenothiazine drugs (J. Brodeur). In addition, “The cardiologist’s viewpoint” about the psychoactive drug-induced ECG changes, and especially about thioridazine-induced conductance,was discussed by J. Ballon, and “The pathologist’s viewpoint” by G. Rona. The nine papers are preceded by an “Introduction” (A. St.Jean), followed by a “General Summary”(A. St.Jean) and a “Bibliography” that lists 40 references.

            This is the third volume of a series published by the Quebec Psychopharmacological Research Association. In the first, the proceedings of the first North American symposium on “The Butyrophenones” and in the second, on “Trimipramine,” were presented. This, the third volume, provided an opportunityto discuss findings in our studies published in 1964 in which we demonstrated dose-dependent cardiac conductance changes with thioridazine (TA BanandA. St. Jean) and in 1965 in which we reported on skin pigmentation in schizophrenic patients treated with large doses of chlorpromazine over a long period of time (TABan, HELehmann.).

 

July 5, 2018