Discontinuing antiparkinson medication in chronic schizophrenics. At what cost to the patient?
In a double-blind study of 100 chronic schizophrenic patients, withdrawal of antiparkinson (AP) medication showed that 44% of the 75 patients who constituted the placebo group (versus none of the patients on active AP medication), complained strongly of debilitating extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) and another 22.6% (versus 8.7% of the patients on active AP medication), displayed disturbing psychotic symptomatology related to EPS. The authors discuss their findings in relation to the widely held view that AP medication may be safely withdrawn from chronic schizophrenics.
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014282:Trihexyphenidyl / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D014282:Trihexyphenidyl