Tardive dyskinesia is a movement disorder characterized by continuous and random muscular movements of the tongue, mouth and face. It can sometimes affect other body parts too, like the extremities, resulting in finger movements. In severe cases the legs can be affected as well making walking difficult. In rare cases respiration muscles could be affected generating breathing difficulties.
What are the chances of developing TD?
The exact mechanisms of tardive dyskinesia are not yet known. It seems that the long term blocking of dopamine receptors causes the increase of their numbers, which can generate random muscle contractions. Anti-psychotic drugs work by blocking the above mentioned receptors.
Tardive dyskinesia appears as a side effect of older generation anti-psychotic drugs especially if they are used for a long period of time. For some persons, like the ones suffering from schizophrenia long term treatment is unavoidable. The risks of developing side effects increases depending on the duration of exposure to the drug, older age, alcoholism, post-menopausal females and mental retardation.
The exact number of persons suffering from TD is unknown. However studies have revealed that 5% of young patients being treated with older generation anti-psychotic drugs will develop tardive dyskinesia within one year. Over their lifetimes almost 60% of them will face the movement disorder. In case of older patients 26% of them will develop the side effects within one year.
TD treatments
TD is not always easy to diagnose. There are many other conditions that can cause movement disorders. Persons suffering from different type of brain damages or even simply very old people can develop similar conditions. Before considering a TD diagnose doctors will document the patient’s history with anti-psychotic drugs.
TD symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe but they disappear during sleep. In some cases they can be reversible by simply stopping the treatment with the medication that caused it. There is however no generally accepted treatment for TD. A series of drugs have been tested over the past 30 years but the results are inconclusive. On the other hand studies have revealed that new generation anti-psychotic drugs have much lower rate in developing the disorder. So preventing the disease is easier than treating it.
If you notice any signs of TD on yourself or a family member who was treated with anti-psychotic drugs or a metoclopramide based medication you should consult a doctor who can diagnose the condition and recommend the appropriate course of action.