Are prophylactic antiparkinson drugs necessary? A controlled study of procyclidine withdrawal.
Arch Gen Psychiatry, 1978/4;35(4):483-9.
Rifkin A, Quitkin F, Kane J, Struve F, Klein DF
PMID: 215095
Abstract
Of 55 aftercare patients receiving long-term treatment with antipsychotic and antiparkinson (AP) drugs, 37 were switched to being given placebo, and 18 remained on a regimen of procyclidine hydrochloride. The dose of antipsychotic was kept constant. After three weeks extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) developed in 54% of those patients receiving placebo and in none of those receiving procyclidine (P less than .002): Twenty-seven percent of the placebo group had EPS without akinesia, and in the same percentage akinesia developed (P = .003). We believe the risk-benefit ratio favors the routine use of AP drugs for prophylaxis and maintenance so as to avoid misdiagnosing as psychopathology, unspontaneity due to akinesia, and to reduce unreliable pill-taking due to EPS.
MeSH terms
Adult; Aftercare; Bipolar Disorder; Chlorpromazine; Clinical Trials as Topic; Double-Blind Method; Drug Therapy, Combination; Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced; Electroencephalography; Female; Humans; Male; Motor Skills; Movement; Procyclidine; Pyrrolidines; Schizophrenia; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
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