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Treatment of severe axial tardive dystonia with clozapine: Case report and hypothesis
Author(s) -
Trugman Joel M.,
Leadbetter Robert,
Zalis Michael E.,
Burgdorf Rose O.,
Wooten G. Frederick
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
movement disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.352
H-Index - 198
eISSN - 1531-8257
pISSN - 0885-3185
DOI - 10.1002/mds.870090411
Subject(s) - tardive dyskinesia , clozapine , antipsychotic , dystonia , dopamine receptor d2 , atypical antipsychotic , medicine , dyskinesia , pharmacology , dopamine , psychology , neuroscience , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychiatry , parkinson's disease , disease
We report a patient with severe axial tardive dystonia who has had dramatic improvement for 4 years after treatment with the atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine (625 mg/day). Clozapine differs from conventional neuroleptics in that it has higher affinity for D1 and lower affinity for D2 dopamine receptors than do conventional antipsychotics, which are relatively selective D2 antagonists. We propose that repetitive stimulation of the D1 receptor by endogenous dopamine, resulting in sensitization of the D1‐mediated striatal output in the presence of D2 receptor blockade, is a fundamental mechanism mediating tardive dyskinesia, including the dystonic type. According to this hypothesis, it is primarily the D1 antagonist action of clozapine that accounts for its inability to cause tardive dyskinesia as well as its therapeutic effect in tardive dystonia. Regardless of its mechanism of action, the sustained improvement observed in this case suggests that clozapine should be tried in cases of severe refractory tardive dystonia.