The Scourge of EPS: Have Atypical Antipsychotics Solved the Problem?

Article Abstract

Treatment-emergent extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) are frequent, distressing, and disabling complications of standard antipsychotics. They include, stated Professor Kasper in his introduction, akathisia, muscle spasms (dystonia), involuntary grimacing or chewing movements (dyskinesia), and symptoms resembling Parkinson’s disease (parkinsonism), e.g., tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia. All these types of movement disorder can manifest alone or in a mixed syndrome. Akathisia is a form of restlessness that can include both observed restlessness, manifesting as inability to sit still for any length of time, and a subtle sense of inner restlessness.