Friday, June 19, 2009

Movement problems and psychosis - why it's not always the drugs

Movement problems are often found in people being treated with antipsychotic drugs. However, people with psychosis who have never taken antipsychotics - said to be antipsychotic naive - can also experience problems including dyskinesia (involuntary movements of the tongue, mouth or limbs) and parkinsonism (rigid muscles, slow movement and tremor). Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry in London reviewed 13 studies into abnormal movement in antipsycotic-naive people with psychosis and found that 9% had dyskinesia and 17% parkinsonism.

Pappa, S. and Dazzan, P. - Spontaneous movement disorders in antipsychotic-naive patients with first-episode psychoses: a systematic review Psychological Medicine July 2009, 39(7), 1065-1076

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