Diurnal variability of orofacial dyskinetic movements.
OBJECTIVE
Instrumental methods to measure tardive dyskinesia (TD) have been introduced in the last few years to try to eliminate the differences in inter-rater reliability. After eliminating variations attributed to the use of different raters, it is clear that TD frequently shows fluctuations in severity contributing to a low test-retest reliability. In the present study the diurnal variability of dyskinetic movements was explored by a computerized technique using digital imaging processing to measure orofacial movements.


METHODS
Ten patients with persistent tardive dyskinesia were assessed three times a day once a week for four consecutive weeks.


RESULTS
Four patients had significant diurnal variations in the severity of dyskinetic movements and six did not have significant variations. The period of time between waking and the assessment, the severity of dyskinetic movements, and smoking were significantly different between these two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Diurnal variations, particularly in relation to sleeping and smoking patterns, may need to be taken into account during longitudinal studies of tardive dyskinesia.
Baca-Garcia
E
E
Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain.
Stanilla
J K
JK
Büchel
C
C
Gattaz
W F
WF
de Leon
J
J
D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004409:Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005152:Facial Muscles; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012890:Sleep; D012907:Smoking
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents