All of the known anti-psychotic chemotherapeutic agents produce, among other side effects, signs of extra-pyramidal disturbances. This has led to controversy as to the desirability of these side effects. Some investigators claim that this phenomenon is necessary for the efficacy of the treatment, whereas others felt that it was no more than a sign of oversaturation and that the aim should be to develop agents which do not produce these side effects. We have recently discussed how these opposing views can be reconciled (S~Pso~ et al.).
Reserpine, a commonly used tranquilizer, has been thought to produce at least some of its actions, including parkinsonoid syndrome, as a result of its release of eatecholamines from certain tissue deposits (BARB]~AU and SOUR~:ES 1961). However, chloropromazine, which also produces parkinsonoid syndrome as side effects, does not cause such a release. Harmine is a four-carbolinc drug which can be derived from the harmala plant, native to Israel. It has been used previously as an antiparkinsonian agent, especially in cases complicated by depression (BEER 1939; SOLLMAN 1949). The relatively few occasions in which it proved efficacious led to its abandonment. The chemical similarity of harmine and reserpine, coupled with the fact that structurally similar compounds can be antagonistic, led to its present trial as a controlling agent for reserpine-induced parkinsonian symptoms.
Methods
Forty patients were selected for this investigation from four different hospitals in the United States, England and Israel. All subjects * Deceased.