Treatment of phenothiazine induced bulbar persistent dyskinesia with deanol acetamidobenzoate
Curran, D.J.; Nagaswami, S.; Mohan, K.J.
Diseases of the Nervous System 36(2): 71-73
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-3714 PMID: 1116418 Document Number: 93299
The late manifestation of neuroleptic-induced dyskinesia (persistent dyskinesia) is an irreversible complication of long-term treatment that is poorly understood and difficult to treat. Recently, a theory of dopamine receptor hypersensitivity in the dopaminergic-cholinergic system has suggested an explanation of choreiform movements and, thus, an implication for the management of persistent dyskinesia. The case presented is that of bulbar persistent dyskinesia in a patient who had been prescribed a phenothiazine derivative for eleven years; his symptoms improved with the use of deanol, which probably converts to acetylcholine after crossing the blood brain barrier. This improvement suggests that deanol may shift the neuroleptic-induced dopaminergic-cholinergic system unbalance toward equilibrium by matching predominant dopaminergic effect or by enhancing deficient cholinergic action in the dopaminergic-cholinergic system. This isolated finding needs to be confirmed by more research in neuropharmacology.