Symptomatic treatment of tardive dyskinesia: a word of caution.

The search for a treatment of tardive dyskinesia (TD) has focused largely on cholinergic and GABAergic agents that are believed to attenuate striatal imbalances and bring about symptomatic control of dyskinetic movements. While numerous reports of the partial effectiveness of acute treatment with cholinergic or GABAergic agents have appeared, the effects of chronic administration of these substance are unclear. Results of chronic administration of cholinergic or GABAergic agents to animals are presented, and it is argued that these substances have the potential of eventually worsening TD. Alternative approaches aimed at modifying the theorized pathophysiology of TD, as opposed to symptom control methods, are presented.