What causes tardive dyskinesia and tardive dystonia?
The exact ways in which psychiatric medications cause tardive dyskinesia and tardive dystonia is still under debate. However, there is no doubt that traditional anti-psychotic drugs cause these disorders in some people who use them. Examples of medications which cause these movement disorders include Thorazine, Stelazine, Haldol, and Prolixin. The relatively new drug Zyprexa (Olanzapine) has been found to cause TD. The risk of TD and other movement disorders cannot be ruled out for people using Risperdal (risperidone). At this time no cases of tardive dyskinesia have been reported for people using Clozaril (clozapine). Who will get tardive dyskinesia and tardive dystonia?Although the statistics vary somewhat, there is no doubt that a significant percentage of people who use neuroleptic or “anti-psychotic” medications will develop a movement disorder caused by those medications. Some studies estimate there are already 250,000-400,000 people in the United States who have tardive dyskines
