Clinical characteristics of 15 patients with tardive dystonia.

Clinical characteristics of 15 consecutively referred patients with tardive dystonia are reported. The onset of tardive dystonia occurred in all age groups and in both sexes, with some preponderance in men. There was considerable overlap with tardive dyskinesia and tardive akathisia. Six subjects reported past acute dystonia, and four had histories of essential tremor, suggesting a vulnerability to the development of dystonia.