Case report of refractory tardive dystonia induced by olanzapine

Tardive dystonia (TDt), a cluster of extrapyramidal symptoms that are caused by long-term use of antipsychotic medication, is characterized by difficulty in autonomic movements of skeletal (voluntary) muscles and consequent deformations of the body. TDt is rarely seen among patients taking olanzapine, but olanzapine was the precipitating antipsychotic medication in this 22-year old male patient with schizophrenia who developed lip puckering, persistent involuntary torticollis, muscular pain, axial dystonia and unstable gait after taking a standard dose of olanzapine regularly for about one year. His symptoms did not resolve after his olanzapine was stopped. Four months of treatment with clozapine combined with magnesium valproate, vitamin E, tiapride, and lorazepam did not lead to any improvement in the dystonia.