Five-year follow-up study of tardive dyskinesia.

A 5-year follow-up investigation of TD was carried out in 85 Hungarian schizophrenic out-patients. No substantial changes occurred during the 5 years in pharmacotherapy: most patients continued on neuroleptics and antiparkinson drugs. Comparison of 1978 and 1983 ratings revealed increased dyskinesia scores, which was statistically significant on the DRS Choreo-athetosis cluster. There was an increase in the number of patients with "moderately" severe TD from 4 in 1978 to 6 in 1981 to 10 (9 "Moderate" and 1 "Severe" TD) in 1983. The total number of TD cases as defined by research diagnostic criteria increased by only 3. The long-term trend in these neuroleptic-treated schizophrenics is for dyskinesia to plateau after reaching mild intensity, while in a minority of cases, the dyskinesia tends to extend from the oro-facial region to other body regions.