Tardive dyskinesia caused by tetrabenazine.

Objective: Although tetrabenazine is widely used as an effective treatment for chorea and other hyperkinetic movement disorders, it has been associated with rare instances of parkinsonism and acute dystonic reactions. There have been no prior reports of tardive dyskinesia with this drug.

Methods: Case report.

Results: Generalized choreiform dyskinesia developed after 10 months of conventional-dosage tetrabenazine treatment, persisting for several weeks after the drug was discontinued.

Conclusions: As might be anticipated from its pharmacological profile, tetrabenazine has the potential to cause tardive dyskinesia. Such an occurrence may be difficult to detect in a clinical population already affected with involuntary movements.