Beneficial effects of the sigma-1 agonist fluvoxamine for tardive dyskinesia in patients with postpsychotic depressive disorder of schizophrenia: report of 5 cases.

OBJECTIVE

Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is characterized by involuntary, repetitive, purposeless movements that can affect different parts of the body. Tardive dyskinesia is a well-known side effect of conventional antipsychotics and commonly occurs after several years of treatment. The effective treatment of TD is unclear. Recently, the sigma-1 receptor agonist fluvoxamine was reported to be beneficial for hyperkinetic movement disorders.

METHOD

We report 5 cases with postpsychotic depressive disorder of schizophrenia and TD. All patients were given fluvoxamine 100 mg/d, and after the second week the dosage of fluvoxamine was increased to 200 mg/d. At the fourth week, patients were assessed in terms of TD and postpsychotic depressive disorder of schizophrenia.

RESULTS

Fluvoxamine was found to be beneficial for TD and postpsychotic depressive disorder of schizophrenia in all patients by the fourth week.

CONCLUSIONS

Recently, the sigma-1 receptor agonist fluvoxamine has been considered beneficial for various neuropsychiatric disorders. However, data about the effects of fluvoxamine on hyperkinetic movement disorders are limited. In this report, we attempted to demonstrate the beneficial effects of fluvoxamine on TD, and we suggest that the mechanism of action might be due to sigma-1 agonism. Further detailed, double-blind studies should clarify the potential use of fluvoxamine in the treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders.