A case of pharmacologic extrapyramidal syndrome

Abstract

Introduction

More than 60% of patients receiving intensive treatment with first generation antipsychotic manifest some type of clinically significant extrapyramidal side effects. Parkinsonian syndrome is the most common and is characterized by rigidity, tremors, akinesia and bradykinesia and usually improves with discontinuation of antipsychotic drug or anticholinergic association.

Methods

It is a 60-year-old man, married with two children. Initiates contact with mental health in 2013 with a diagnosis of adjustment disorder. In February 2014 he requires hospitalisation, establishing the diagnosis of delusional disorder and starting treatment with long-acting injectable paliperidone palmitate (100 mg/month) with remission of psychotic symptoms in a few days. When we receive the patient in our clinic, he presents parkinsonian extrapyramidal symptoms (UKU subscale: 18), with significant functional limitation. We decrease the dose to 75 mg/month and an anticholinergic was added without improvement of Parkinsonian clinic, so we decided to switch to long-acting injectable aripiprazole 400 mg/month, objectifying complete remission of extrapyramidal syndrome (UKU subscale: 0).

Conclusions

The mechanism of action of aripiprazole m LAI (partial agonist of D2 receptors in the brain) without decreases in the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway, of improving extrapyramidal effects associated one other antipsychotics.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.