Improvement of tardive dyskinesia associated with electroconvulsive therapy

This report describes a 54-year-old white woman who developed a persistent tardive dyskinesia after receiving neuroleptics for a manic episode. Although a variety of treatments were attempted, her tardive dyskinesia remained essentially unchanged for 5 years. It dramatically improved when she received electroconvulsive therapy for a depressive episode, however. This improvement has now been maintained for 14 months. Based on this observation, we suggest the use of electroconvulsive therapy in cases of persistent tardive dyskinesia that is unresponsive to treatment, if it is associated with a concurrent affective disorder requiring treatment.