ABSTRACT
In 2002 the fiftieth anniversary of chlorpromazine was celebrated. This could also be considered the fiftieth anniversary of modern neuropsychopharmacology. It came about because a French naval surgeon, Henri Laborit, was interested in artificial hibernation to minimize surgical stress. He developed a method of placing his patients in an ice bath while at the same time administering an antihistaminic drug, promethazine. This worked to a certain extent but then Laborit asked the manufacturers to modify the drug to try to broaden its spectrum of action. This led to the synthesis of chlorpromazine, which was found to have a strong sedative effect on the patients. Eventually the psychiatrists, Jean Delay and Pierre Deniker, tested chlorpromazine in psychotic patients with remarkable results (Delay et al, 1952), although initially they also continued with the ice bath treatment. Then, one day when the ice ran out, they found that the drug worked just as well without it. The rest, as they say, is history.
