Fluoxetine and tics in an adolescent.
OBJECTIVE
To describe a case of tics associated with fluoxetine.


METHODS
A depressed adolescent was treated with fluoxetine. The patient had not been exposed to any other pharmacologic agents prior to this treatment. Following eight months of fluoxetine therapy the patient developed numerous tics. The movements subsided six months after discontinuation of fluoxetine.


CONCLUSIONS
Antidopaminergic effects have been reported in patients treated with fluoxetine. Because fluoxetine is a specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor, one plausible explanation for the extrapyramidal symptoms observed in these patients is that serotonin modulates dopaminergic neurons.


CONCLUSIONS
Extrapyramidal symptoms have been reported in patients receiving fluoxetine, although never previously in an adolescent. This case report provides further evidence that fluoxetine may be associated with severe extrapyramidal adverse reactions.
Eisenhauer
G
G
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Temple.
Jermain
D M
DM
D002648:Child; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013981:Tic Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced*
D005473:Fluoxetine