Tardive dyskinesia and glucid metabolism.

Unlabelled: A role of insulin-dependent diabetes in the onset of tardive dyskinesia has been reported and relies on weak physiopathological evidence.

Objective: To study the relationship between the occurrence of tardive dyskinesia and variations in glucose levels in a population of patients under typical antipsychotic treatment.

Methods: Sixty-nine patients with a schizophrenic disorder and who had been receiving continuous neuroleptic treatment for at least 2 years were included.

Patient-based and clinician-based support for the remission criteria in schizophrenia.

This analysis characterizes patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder treated with risperidone who met remission criteria. In a 50-week, open-label trial, stable patients received long-acting injectable risperidone every 2 weeks. Remission criteria included severity (absent-mild ratings on core symptoms of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) and duration (> or =6 months) components.

Comparative efficacy and safety of long-acting risperidone and risperidone oral tablets.

A double-blind study of long-acting injectable risperidone and oral risperidone tablets was conducted in 640 patients with schizophrenia. All patients received flexible doses of 1-6 mg of oral risperidone for 8 weeks. Doses were stable during weeks 5-8.

Practical application of pharmacotherapy with long-acting risperidone for patients with schizophrenia.

Objective: It is now generally accepted that the use of second-generation, or atypical, antipsychotics for schizophrenia represents an advance over conventional antipsychotic agents. However, adherence continues to be a problem, as with other medications for chronic disorders. Long-acting formulations of conventional antipsychotics partly address adherence problems, but their use is limited by tolerability issues.

Hidden cardiac lesions and psychotropic drugs as a possible cause of sudden death in psychiatric patients: a report of 14 cases and review of the literature.

Objective: To confirm the hypothesis that psychotropic drugs, especially neuroleptics, lithium, and antidepressants, are implicated as a cause of unexpected sudden death in psychiatric patients because of their cardiotoxicity, especially when hidden cardiac lesions are present.

Method: We performed a full pathological examination of 14 psychiatric patients who unexpectedly and suddenly died between 1980 and 1999.

Results: Neuroleptics were involved in 13 instances, antidepressants in 9, and anxiolytics in 5.