Choline for Tardive Dyskinesia

Abstract

To the Editor: It has been suggested that tardive dyskinesia results from an imbalance between striatal dopaminergic and cholinergic activities. This hypothesis finds support in pharmacologic attempts to alter central cholinergic activity in patients with the disorder. Thus, intravenous physostigmine administration has been shown to afford improvement, whereas anticholinergic agents exacerbate the movements of some patients with tardive dyskinesia.¹ These observations have recently led to a number of attempts to treat tardive dyskinesia with deanol acetamidobenzoate (Deaner, Riker) which is assumed to increase central cholinergic activity.^{2 3 4 5} A 39-year-old man with classic buccolingual-masticatory dyskinesia was treated with several pharmacologic agents. Base-line . . .