Tardive dyskinesia

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Central nervous system

Tardive dyskinesia is a disorder that involves involuntary movements, especially of the lower face. Tardive means "delayed" and dyskinesia means "abnormal movement."

Tardive dyskinesia is a serious side effect that occurs when you take medications called neuroleptics. Most often, it occurs when you take the medication for many months or years, but in some cases it can occur after you take them for as little as 6 weeks.

The drugs that most commonly cause this disorder are older antipsychotic drugs, including:

• Chlorpromazine
• Fluphenazine
• Haloperidol
• Trifluoperazine

Other drugs, similar to these antipsychotic drugs, that can cause tardive dyskinesia include:

• Flunarizine (Sibelium)
• Metoclopramide
• Prochlorperazine

Newer antipsychotic drugs seem less likely to cause tardive dyskinesia, but they are not entirely without risk.

Review Date: 06/15/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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