DP Obit: Frank Ayd, Psychiatrist Who Advanced Thorazine Use

A pioneer in psychiatric medicine has died. Dr. Frank Ayd, whose truly groundbreaking work in developing the first effective neuroleptics to treat schizophrenia led to the appellation “the father of psychopharmacology” died from longstanding complications of coronary artery disease. In 1955 his seminal research on the agents chlorpromazine (Thorazine, still used in a major way today) and reserpine (a drug known today more for its beneficial effects on blood pressure control) completely revolutionized the treatment of schizophrenia in this country, virtually eliminating the need for lobotomies — widely the standard in that era.

Developing drugs at a time in which federal regulation was at a minimum, Dr. Ayd had the freedom to steer his academic passion toward the biological approach of mental illness which served as the model for scores of drug classes which followed. This dedication was completely at odds with most of the doctor’s colleagues’ behavioral theories on mental illness treatment standards at the time. Many, if not all, healthcare providers have not known the treatment of schizophrenia, let alone all mental illness, without the proven benefits of pharmacotherapy first mainstreamed by this extremely talented physician-researcher. | LINK