Tardive Dyskinesia in Patients Treated with Major Neuroleptics: A Review of the Literature

Since 1959 a growing number of reports have described a new type of neurological disorder in mental patients. This disorder, known as tardive dyskinesia, has been observed in approximately 500 cases but, judging from the accurate observations made by three separate groups of investigators, the syndrome is likely to be more frequent than one may suspect. Although manifestations of tardive dyskinesia occur in a number of diseases of the central nervous system, there is considerable evidence that the largescale use of phenothiazines or similar drugs in recent years is responsible for the great number of patients in mental hospitals exhibiting myoclonia and choreo-athetoid symptoms.