Treatment of akathisia with lorazepam. An open clinical trial.

Sixteen patients with neuroleptic-induced akathisia were treated with lorazepam. A marked improvement in symptoms was observed in 9 of the patient and moderate improvement in 5. Symptoms remained unchanged in 2 patients. The drop in the akathisia score from a pretreatment value of 1.81 to 0.5 after 7 days and to 0.32 after 14 days was statistically significant. Symptoms did not improve significantly during observation of the spontaneous course. No severe side effects were observed. The physiologic mechanisms of action of lorazepam on the akathisia syndrome are discussed.