Why Do Antipsychotics Cause Tardive Dyskinesia?

Medically Reviewed on3/30/2022
Why Do Antipsychotics Cause Tardive Dyskinesia?
抗精神病药物引起某些生化改变我n the brain and disrupt the neuronal communication of dopamine resulting in neurological symptoms, such as tardive dyskinesia.

Tardive dyskinesiais a neurological condition that results in abnormal movements (movement disorder), typically affecting the face, lips, jaw, or tongue that typically occurs after long-term use of antipsychotics (neuroleptics).

  • Antipsychotics cause certain biochemical changesin a part of the brain called the striatum that may result in involuntary movements in certain parts of the body.
  • These medications act by blocking the action of a brain chemical calleddopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, which means it helps the nerve cells or neurons communicate with each other.
  • Antipsychotics disrupt this neuronal communicationthat may lead to neurological symptoms such as abnormal movements (dyskinesia).

Some people may even developtardivedyskinesia with short-term use of these medications, whereas some may not develop it.

Elderly patients are more likely to develop tardive dyskinesia. Some people may be more susceptible due to their genetic tendencies to develop this condition. Female gender,alcoholconsumption, anddiabetesmay increase the risk of tardive dyskinesia following antipsychotic usage.

Which antipsychotics are most likely to cause tardive dyskinesia?

Older antipsychotics are more likely to cause tardive dyskinesia than newer ones. They are also called typical antipsychotics or first-generation antipsychotics and are used to treatschizophrenia.

Thesedrugsinclude:

Besides the treatment ofschizophrenia, first-generation antipsychotics are used for other conditions such asanxiety(trifluoperazine and prochlorperazine), Tourette’s syndrome (pimozide), and intractablehiccups, acute intermittentporphyria, andtetanus(chlorpromazine).

Do all antipsychotics cause tardive dyskinesia?

Yes, all antipsychotics can potentially cause tardive dyskinesia; however, the risk is lower with second-generation or atypical antipsychotics such as:

Apart fromschizophreniatreatment, atypical antipsychotics may be prescribed for other conditions such asbipolar disorder(olanzapine),autism(risperidone, aripiprazole), Tourette’s syndrome (aripiprazole), anddepression(lurasidone).

SLIDESHOW

What's Schizophrenia? Symptoms, Types, Causes, TreatmentSee Slideshow

What other medications may cause tardive dyskinesia?

Besides antipsychotics, other medications may cause tardive dyskinesia, such as:

Does tardive dyskinesia go away?

Tardive dyskinesia may go away when detected and treated early. This may not happen in all cases, and some people continue to have the symptoms despite stopping the culprit medication.

In some people, symptoms may worsen with time. If symptoms of tardive dyskinesia do not go away despite stopping the medication responsible for causing it, the doctor may recommend medications to manage the symptoms. Moreover, this may be necessary in cases where stopping the medication is too risky for the affected person.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two medications such as Ingrezza (valbenazine) and Austedo (deutetrabenazine) in 2017 for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia in adults. Other medications, typicallybenzodiazepines, may be given to manage the symptoms.

In resistant or severe cases, other therapeutic options such asBotoxinjections in the affected site ordeep brain stimulationmay be considered.

Medically Reviewed on3/30/2022
References
Image Source: iStock Images

https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/drugs-tardive-dyskinesia-3564907/

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000685.htm

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2010/0301/p617.html