Dialysis for schizophrenia: an uncontrolled study of 11 patients.

The authors evaluated hemodialysis as a treatment for schizophrenia in an uncontrolled study of 11 patients. Eight men and two women with chronic schizophrenia who had responded poorly to conventional treatments or who had sought alternate treatments received three dialyses weekly for 3 weeks; 1 additional subject dropped out after eight treatments. MMPI, Psychiatric Status Scale, and Inpatient Multidimensional Psychiatric Scale scores were obtained before, immediately following, and at intervals after the nine treatments. Preliminary results, including 1-month follow-up, suggest that subjects with pretreatment anxiety and depression improved. No endorphins were discovered in the dialysate.