• This study of patients with remitted chronic schizophrenia in an aftercare clinic was designed to test whether such patients require maintenance antipsychotic medication. A previous report showed that the group receiving active medication, fluphenazine decanoate and oral fluphenazine, had far fewer relapses; but the former group had a high incidence of akinesia. This present report presents rating scale data substantiating these two findings: (1) patients terminated on clinical grounds because of a schizophrenic relapse showed rating scale changes consistent with that diagnosis; and (2) the patients removed due to severe akinesia showed a worsening on items selected a priori to measure akinesia, and when compared to survivors on the same items, showed significant differences— thus confirming our clinical judgments.