Tardive dyskinesia may appear with long-term use of drugs for various kinds of mental disorders. This disease, which affects the central nervous system, manifests itself in the form of uncontrolled movements of any parts of the human body. It is important to seek medical help at the first sign of illness, as the lack of treatment can lead to death.
Reasons
The main cause of tardive dyskinesia is the use of neurolytics, drugs used to treat mental illness. With prolonged use, they tend to destroy the cells of the brain and nervous system. Tardive dyskinesia is considered a dangerous consequence that requires constant monitoring - the probability of death is extremely high, especially in patients over 50 years of age.
All antipsychotics must be taken on a strict schedule. If the first signs of dyskinesia appear, discontinuation of the drug will not stop the development of the disease - neurolytics have a cumulative effect and are found in the body even several months after completediscontinuation of medication. Even minimal doses of drugs serve as a triggering factor for the development of the disease.
Medications that often cause complications include:
- "Aminazine";
- "Tizercin";
- "Triftazin";
- Perphenazine;
- Haloperidol;
- "Trifluperidol";
- "Droperidol".
These drugs are typical neurolytics that can cause severe consequences.
Disease forms
Depending on the gender and age of the patient, the duration of the use of antipsychotics and the presence of other pathologies, tardive dyskinesia can take the following forms:
- reversible;
- irreversible;
- persistent (when symptoms persist for a long time).
Symptoms
There is a widespread belief that tardive dyskinesia is dementia. In fact, it is a consequence in the absence of therapy. This disease is characterized by the occurrence of uncontrolled movements.
Symptoms of tardive dyskinesia include:
- Tremor - rapid involuntary muscle contractions of various parts of the body. Trembling can appear both at rest and when making conscious movements.
- Nervous tic is a fast monotonous muscle contraction of a short duration.
- Akathisia is a condition accompanied by restlessness and a desire to be constantly on the move. The patient cannot stand or sit still, oftenactivity persists in sleep.
The symptoms of tardive dyskinesia are pronounced and appear immediately. They may be accompanied by signs of a deterioration in the general condition of the body: fatigue, drowsiness, dizziness.
With untimely treatment, the course of the disease is complicated:
- it becomes difficult for the patient to talk, speech loses clarity, it is impossible to pronounce some letters;
- gait changes, balance is lost;
- periodic breath holding;
- muscle tissue becomes weak, body weight decreases sharply;
- mood changes often - from joyful to aggressive.
According to statistics, every tenth person over 50 who takes neurolytics is at risk.
Treatment
Duration of treatment for tardive dyskinesia is about 2 years. It requires considerable effort and strict adherence to all doctor's recommendations.
First of all, the cause of the disease is determined - the drug that provoked its appearance. If drug withdrawal is not possible, the patient continues to take it at the minimum dose. At the same time, a search is underway for analogues that have the same effect, but do not affect the structure of the cells of the brain and nervous system. As a rule, the symptoms of the disease after changing the drug are less pronounced, provided that the patient went to a medical institution at the first signs of tardive dyskinesia. After that, a treatment plan is drawn up, its effectiveness is evaluated.regularly.
Today, there is no such treatment regimen that would guarantee getting rid of a dangerous disease. Doctors have noticed that at the initial stage, patients under 35-40 years old can help reduce the severity of symptoms of vitamin E, taken in high doses.
It is important to understand that therapy may not bring improvement. In this regard, special attention should be paid to preventive measures.
Prevention
To avoid the occurrence of tardive dyskinesia, it is necessary to visit a neurologist twice a year. The task of a specialist is to qualitatively assess the neurological status of a person when taking medications for mental disorders, as well as to predict possible changes in the event of an increase in the dosage of the drug.
Tardive dyskinesia is an extremely dangerous disease that is often irreversible. In the absence of treatment or untimely access to a doctor, disability or death may occur.
