Propranolol in the treatment of rage and violent behavior in patients with chronic brain syndromes.

The authors successfully treated four patients who had irreversible CNS lesions and socially disabling aggressiveness and outbursts of rage, which had not been affected by high doses of major tranquilizers or anticonvulsants, with 320-520 mg/day of propranolol. Disorientation, memory impairment, and psychotic thought processes associated with the CNS lesions were not altered by the propranolol.