Benefical effects of sigma-1 agonist fluvoxamine for tardive dyskinesia and tardive akathisia in patients with schizophrenia: report of three cases.
Fluvoxamine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor that is approved for psychiatric disorders such as major depressive episodes and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Beside inhibition of serotonin reuptake, fluvoxamine is also a potent agonist of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein sigma-1 receptors, which play a role in the pathophysiology of a number of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. This report presents beneficial effects of sigma-1 agonist fluvoxamine on hyperkinetic movement disorders such as tardive dyskinesia and tardive akathisia. Fluvoxamine might be a novel treatmet approach in the treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders.
Department of Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, Namık Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey.
Yakup
Y
Albayrak
Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba, Japan.
Kenji
K
Hashimoto
Akathisia; Dyskinesia; Fluvoxamine; Sigma receptor