Tardive Dyskinesia

The syndrome is a persistent neurological disorder associated with antipsychotic drug use. When full-blown it is easily recognized, but early cases frequently are missed. Most patients who develop the syndrome have been on antipsychotic medication for a number of years, often at high dosage. The syndrome is characterized by rhythmical involuntary movements of the tongue, face, mouth or jaw. To make a definitive diagnosis of the syndrome, antipsychotic drugs must be discontinued. Then if the symptoms persist, the diagnosis is clear. No truly effective treatment for tardive dyskinesia is known. Discontinuing the presumably causal antipsychotic medication is indicated if at all possible. Certainly all classes of antipsychotic drugs are implicated. As far as is known, no individual drugs in extensive use have not been implicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)