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Although clozapine is more effective than other antipsychotic drugs for refractory schizophrenia, studies have found that as many as 40% to 70% of patients taking clozapine for this condition have an unsatisfactory response. In a Taiwanese study, 60 inpatients with substantial positive and negative symptoms after ≥12 weeks of clozapine treatment were randomized to a 6-week, double-blind trial of addition of placebo or one of two doses (1 or 2 g/day) of sodium benzoate. Mean clozapine dose in the treatment groups ranged from 242 to 275 mg/day.
Analyses corrected for multiple comparisons. Both doses of sodium benzoate were well tolerated and were significantly better than placebo in reducing negative symptoms, with clinically meaningful effect…