DANGERS IN COMBINING RESERPINE (SERPASIL) WITH ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY

Within the past two years reserpine has enjoyed an increasing and ever-expanding popularity in therapeutic usage in this country, particularly because of its rather specific hypotensive effect, and in recent months there has been a growing enthusiasm in the use of reserpine for the treatment of many psychiatric illnesses. Noce and others¹ were enthusiastic about the value of this drug in treatment of agitated and overactive states. They reported dramatic responses in patients who had been unmanageable and who had not responded previously to certain of the so-called physical therapys, particularly electroshock treatment. Originally more conservative in reported results, Kline² has recently also described most encouraging effects with the use of reserpine.

Earlier studies³ on the pharmacology of this drug emphasize that it has very low toxicity. Monkeys have tolerated orally given doses up to 3 mg. per kilogram of body weight daily for six months and