Skin Pigmentation, A Rare Side Effect of Chlorpromazine

Abstract

A greyish-brownish-bluish skin discolouration is described in patients who have received chlorpromazine in high dosages for a considerable length of time. Prior to the skin pigmentation an increased melanocytic activity with ocular manifestations appears, which beyond a certain point in some patients leads to exhaustion of melanocytic activity and to deposit of melanin in the dermis. The melanin/chlorpromazine complex is discussed and a hypothetical mechanism of chlorpromazine action is proposed which may lead to the described skin and ocular pathology.