Brain distribution of selected antipsychotics in schizophrenia.

The brain distribution of phenothiazine antipsychotics in 22 confirmed schizophrenic and 11 control subjects were collected at autopsy. Specimens were homogenized, extracted with n-butyl chloride, and analyzed via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, using atmospheric pressure electrospray ionization operating in the positive mode. Drug concentrations normalized for those observed in cerebellum showed three distinct patterns of distribution corresponding to different structural features of each type of phenothiazine. Those drugs with high affinity for dopamine receptors were detected in the highest concentrations in regions with high concentrations of such receptors. However, those associated with relatively lower dopaminergic activity were found in the highest concentration in the occipital cortex, a region with a relatively low concentration of dopamine receptors. The regional brain distribution of thioridazine and its metabolites was concentration dependent. These results have implications for determining the role of these drugs in the sudden and unexpected deaths of schizophrenics.