Veralipride-induced tardive dystonia in a patient with bipolar psychosis

Veralipride is a benzamide derivative effective in the treatment of menopausal syndrome. Despite its antidopaminergic action, extrapyramidal side effects seem to be very uncommon. We observed a patient with bipolar psychosis, who developed segmental dystonia after taking the drug. The disorder slowly receded in 14 months, but reappeared during neuroleptic therapy a few months later. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of veralipride-induced tardive dystonia, and the affective disorder might have predisposed our patient to the development of this tardive side effect.