Atypical antipsychotic drugs and tardive dyskinesia

relevance of D2 receptor affinity

Bressan, Rodrigo A.
Jones, Hugh M.
Pilowsky, Lyn S.

Section of Neurochemical Imaging and Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK and Departamento de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil [email protected]
Section of Neurochemical Imaging and Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
Section of Neurochemical Imaging and Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK

Journal of Psychopharmacology 18(1):p 124-127, March 2004. | DOI: 10.1177/0269881104040251

Evidence suggests atypical antipsychotic treatment is associated with a lower incidence of tardive dyskinesia (TD) than typical antipsychotic drugs, and is a potential antidyskinetic treatment. We present the case of a middle-aged woman never previously exposed to antipsychotic treatment who developed TD after 6 months of olanzapine monotherapy. Substitution of quetiapine for olanzapine alleviated her TD symptoms. The case demonstrates that atypical antipsychotic drugs have different effects in relation to TD. Potential psychopharmacological mechanisms explaining these differences are discussed, highlighting the importance of D2 receptor occupancy by atypical antipsychotic drugs for TD.