Hostname: page-component-65b85459fc-jnhdt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-15T22:38:23.592Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Treatment of tardive dyskinesias with vitamin E*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

M Schmidt ,
P Meister  and
P Baumann
M Schmidt
Affiliation:
Département Universitaire de Psychiatrie Adulte de Lausanne, Hôpital de Cery, CH-1008Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
P Meister
Affiliation:
Département Universitaire de Psychiatrie Adulte de Lausanne, Hôpital de Cery, CH-1008Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
P Baumann*
Affiliation:
Département Universitaire de Psychiatrie Adulte de Lausanne, Hôpital de Cery, CH-1008Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
*
**Correspondence and reprints
Get access

Summary

The hypothesis that tardive dyskinesias observed after long-term administration of neuroleptics are due to the formation of free radicals following this medication has prompted studies on the use of vitamin E (α-tocopherol), an antioxidant to treat patients suffering from such side-effects. The present study aimed at reproducing earlier encouraging results in treating 23 patients with vitamin E, using a double-blind crossover design. Inclusion criteria were: duration of tardive dyskinesia for at least 3 months, appearance of the symptoms during neuroleptic treatment or after stopping this kind of medication. The 10 subjects in the first group (Gl) were treated for 14 days with 1 200 mg vitamin E per day and then for 14 days with placebo. For the second group (G2) with 9 subjects, the treatment periods were inversed. The 2 dropouts in each group were not due to experimental problems: there was no complication due to vitamin E intake, or only negligible side-effects. Side-effects were rated on the AIM scale on days 0, 14 and 28. The results of the present study do not confirm earlier reports: there was no significant difference in the therapeutic effect between placebo and vitamin E in any of the groups. However, the fact of taking these symptoms into account in the physician-patient relationship has contributed significantly to a decrease of tardive dyskinesia in both groups, from the beginning until the end of the investigation period, during which both neuroleptic and tranquilizing treatments were kept constant. Further studies should include longer treatment periods with vitamin E or even test the preventive effect of vitamin E in the production of tardive dyskinesia by neuroleptics.

Keywords

schizophreniatardive dyskinesiapharmacological treatmentvitamin Eneuroleptics

Information

Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , 1991 , pp. 201 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier, Paris 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

*

Dedicated to Prof Chris Müller on the occasion of his 70th birthday

References

Baldessarini, J, Cohen, BM, Teicher, MH (1988) Significance of neuroleptic dose and plasma level in the harmacological treatment of psychoses. Arch Gen Psychiatry AS, 79–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biéri, JG, Corash, Hubbard VS (1983) Medical uses of vitamin E. N Engl J Med 308, 1063–1071CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bourgeois, M (1987) Les dyskinésies tardives des neuroleptiques. Complication majeure des traitements neuroleptiques au long cours. Ann Méd Psychol 145, 156–160Google Scholar
Broussolle, P, Rosier, Y (1959) Évolution des symptômes neurologiques dus aux neuroleptiques (bilan de 344 cures).In: Annales Médico-Psychologiques, 117eAnnée (Bailarger, J, Abély, P, eds) Masson et Cie, Paris, vol 1, 140–151Google Scholar
Cadet, JL, Lohr, JB, Jeste, DV (1986) Free radicals and tardive dyskinesia. Letter to the Editor. Trends Neurol Sci 9, 107–108CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cadet, JL, Lohr, JB, Jeste, DV (1987) Tardive dyskinesia and schizophrenic burnout: the possible involvement of cytotoxic free radicals.In: Handbook of Schizophrenia. Neurochemistry and Neuropharmacology of Schizophrenia (Henn, FA, DeLisi, LE, eds) Elsevier Sci Publ, Amsterdam, vol 2, 425–438Google Scholar
Casey, DE, Keepers, GA (1988) Neuroleptic side-effects: acute extrapyramidal syndromes and tardive dyskinesia.In: Psychopharmacology: Current Trends (Casey, DE, Christensen, AV, eds) Springer Verlag, Berlin, 74–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chouinard, G, Steinberg, S (1984) New clinical concepts on neuroleptic-induced supersensitivity disorders: tardive dyskinesia and supersensitivity psychosis. In: Guidelines for the Use of Psychotropic Drugs 205–227CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fibiger, HC, Lloyd, KG (1984) Neurobiological substrates of tardive dyskinesia: the GABA hypothesis. Trends Neurosci 7, 462–464CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerlach, J, Casey, DE (1989) Tardive dyskinesia. Acta Psychiatr Scand 77, 369–378CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guy, E (1976) Abnormal involuntary movement scale. In: EDCEU Assessment Manual. Dept of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington, 534–537Google Scholar
Haag, H, Greil, W, Rüther, E (1987) Zusammenhang zwischen spätdyskinesie und verschiedenen Variabeln der neuroleptischen Behandlung. In: Probleme der Neuroleptischen Dosierung.6 Düsseldorfer Symp, 18-19 Mai 1984 (Heinrich, K, Klieser, E, eds) Schattawer, Stuttgart, 236–249Google Scholar
Horwitt, MK (1980) Therapeutic uses of vitamin E in medicine. Nutr Rev 38, 105–115CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jeste, DV, Wyatt, RJ (1982) Understanding and Treating Tardive Dyskinesia. Guilford Press, NYGoogle Scholar
Kane, JM (1987) Treatment of schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 13, 133–156CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ko, NG, Zhang, LD, Yan, WW, Zhang, MD,Buchner, D, Xia, JZ, Wyatt, RC, Jeste, DV (1989) The Shangai 800: prevalence of tardive dyskinesias in a Chinese psychiatric hospital. Am J Psychiatry 146, 387–389Google Scholar
Lemperière, T, Shulter, E, Gutmann, A (1977) Problèmes posés par les dyskinésies tardives des neuroleptiques. Encéphale 3, 229–320Google Scholar
Lohr, JB, Cadet, JL, Lohr, MA, Jeste, DV, Wyatt, RJ (1987) Alpha-tocopherol in tardive dyskinesia. Lancet i, 913–914CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, DPR, Lloyd, JK (1982) Effect of large oral doses of vitamin E on the neurological sequelae of patients with A-β lipoproteinaemia Ann NY Acad Sci 133–144CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rey, MJ, Schulz, P, Costa, C, Dick, P, Tissot, R (1989) Guidelines for the dosage of neuroleptics. I. Chlorpromazine equivalent of orally administered neuroleptics. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 4, 95–104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruffieux, A, Regli, F (1985) Les dyskinésies tardives. Rev Méd Suisse Romande 105, 339–347Google Scholar
Schönecker, M (1957) Beitrag zu der Mitteilung von Kulenkampff und Tarnow. Ein eigentümliches Syndrom im oralen Bereich bei Megaphenapplikation. Nervenarzt 28–35Google Scholar
Sigwald, J, Bouttier, D, Raymondeaud, C, Piot, C (1959) Quatre cas de dyskinésie facio-bucco-linguomasticatrice à évolution prolongée secondaire à un traitement par les neuroleptiques. Rev Neurol 100, 751–755Google Scholar
Wertheimer, J (1965) Syndromes extra-pyramidaux consécutifs à l’administration prolongée de neuroleptiques. Arch Suisses Psych Neurol Neurochir Psychiatr 95, 120–173Google Scholar
Wolf, MA, Gautier, J (1981) Physiologie et traitement des dyskinésies tardives. Encéphale 8, 301–308Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.