Second Thoughts About Clozapine as a Treatment for Neuroleptic-Induced Akathisia

Sir: Recently, Spivak et al. published an article in the Journal titled "Clozapine treatment for neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia, parkinsonism, and chronic akathisia in schizophrenic patients." The issue of finding an effective treatment for chronic treatment-resistant extrapyramidal side effects and akathisia is of considerable clinical importance. Various authors have proposed that clozapine may be useful in treating such patients based on case reports and open studies.