Rapid resolution of psychotic symptoms in a patient with schizophrenia using allopurinol as an adjuvant: a case report.

CONTEXT Despite multiple trials of different adjuvant therapies to an antipsychotic regimen, there have been few promising results. Allopurinol may be one promising adjunctive therapy based on three randomized controlled trials. OBJECTIVE To determine whether adjuvant allopurinol would be beneficial to a patient already on multiple trials of antipsychotics with no improvement. RESULTS Allopurinol was started with this particular patient who was on the inpatient unit for over three months with no prior improvement. Within two weeks of allopurinol adjuvant therapy, the patient showed significant improvement with regards to his positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia (PANSS scores went from a score of 88 to a score of 41 two weeks later). CONCLUSIONS Despite some limitations of this particular case report, it is possible that allopurinol can play an effective role as an adjuvant to antipsychotic regimens in reducing the symptoms of schizophrenia.