Drug Induced Abnormal Movements

Overview

Abnormal movements can be voluntary or involuntary. There are many types of abnormal movements such as tremors, tardive dyskinesia, chorea, myoclonus, tics, dystonia, and athetosis. Abnormal movements can be caused by many reasons and one of them is drug-induced. Drug-induced abnormal movements can be either an acute reaction, subacute disorders or tardive disorders. Drugs that commonly cause abnormal movements are antipsychotics such as haloperidol, chlorpromazine, clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine and quetiapine and antiemetic drugs such as metoclopramide, prochlorperazine, and promethazine. Both of these drugs are dopamine receptor blockers where they block the action of dopamine. Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter that is responsible for the coordination of movements of the body part. Drug-induced abnormal movements can be diagnosed through medical history, physical and neurological examination. Other than that, blood tests, electromyography, electroencephalogram, muscle biopsy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography can be done to diagnose abnormal movements.