Unusual complications of antipsychotic drugs

Phenothiazines have been responsible for pigmentary changes in the skin (phototoxic reaction) and for pigment deposits in the cornea, lens and retina, which can result in blindness. Reversible agranulocytosis has also been reported with these agents. Psychotic exacerbation, including a form responsive to antiparkinsonian agents, may occur with high-potency antipsychotic drugs. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome, usually following high-dose therapy in young men, is a disorder of thermoregulatory mechanisms.