TARDIVE-DYSKINESIA - A REVIEW

Objective: To review recent research findings on tardive dyskinesia (T D) with relevance to clinical practice. Method: TD is a syndrome of in voluntary movements that can occur in association with chronic neurole ptic use. It is of unknown pathophysiology. It can be irreversible, is cosmetically disfiguring, and can be functionally disabling. Results: There is as yet no treatment of demonstrated efficacy for TD. It is a n iatrogenic disorder whose incidence is increased by age and total cu mulative dose of typical neuroleptics. If has been the source of succe ssful litigation in some jurisdictions but until very recently, there has been no effective antipsychotic agent without this effect Conclusi on: This litigation in some jurisdictions has been a major impetus to the development of novel antipsychotic agents. If is less well known t hat a similar, possibly identical, movement disorder occurs spontaneou sly particularly in the elderly and inpatients with schizophrenia, and that TD is often reversible.