title: [Extrapyramidal side-effects: avoidance, diagnosis and treatment].
abstract: Acute extrapyramidal side-effects (EPS) are a common phenomenon of treatment with antipsychotics. They are associated with a substantial reduction of the patient's quality of life and of compliance with the treatment. This article gives an overview of the different forms of EPS. It outlines strategies to avoid these side-effects and discusses problems in diagnosis and treatment. In comparison to conventional compounds, the clearest advantage of new generation antipsychotics is a reduced risk of the occurrence of extrapyramidal side-effects (EPS). Many studies have found that newer antipsychotics have a lesser propensity to causes EPS. Nevertheless, there are some conflicting results on this topic. This article discusses some of these results and sheds light on methodological problems in the evaluation of side-effects of antipsychotic treatment.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Biologische Psychiatrie Universitätsklinik für Psychiatrie Innsbruck, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck. wolfgang.fleischhacker@uibk.ac.at
authors.forename: W Wolfgang
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Fleischhacker
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Widschwendter
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D004409:Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents