Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T04:20:30.078Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Relationship Between Iron Status and Chronic Akathisia in an In-patient Population with Chronic Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Thomas R. E. Barnes*
Affiliation:
Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School
Simon M. Halstead
Affiliation:
Springfield Hospital, Academic Unit, Horton Hospital
Patrick W. A. Little
Affiliation:
Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, Department of Chemical Pathology, London
*
Academic Unit, Horton Hospital, Epsom, Surrey KT19 8PZ

Abstract

Iron status and akathisia were assessed in 105 long-stay in-patients who fulfilled DSM–III–R criteria for schizophrenia, all but three of whom were receiving antipsychotic medication. Chronic akathisia was diagnosed in 23% and pseudoakathisia in 20%. No significant correlation was found between serum iron concentration and the severity of akathisia. There was no significant difference in serum iron concentration between patients with chronic akathisia and those without. However, serum iron and percentage saturation were significantly raised in patients with pseudoakathisia compared with patients with chronic akathisia, and tended to be higher than in patients with akathisia. These findings do not support an association between low serum iron and chronic akathisia.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn, revised) (DSM–III–R). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Adler, L. A., Angrist, B., Reiter, S., et al (1989) Neuroleptic-induced akathisia: a review. Psychopharmacology, 97, 111.Google Scholar
Ayd, F. (1961) A survey of drug-induced extrapyramidal reactions. Journal of the American Medical Association, 175, 10541060.Google Scholar
Barnes, T. R. E. (1989) A rating scale for drug-induced akathisia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 672676.Google Scholar
Barnes, T. R. E. (1990) Movement disorder associated with antipsychotic drugs: the tardive syndromes. International Review of Psychiatry, 2, 355366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, T. R. E. & Braude, W. M. (1985) Akathisia variants and tardive dyskinesia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 874878.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barnes, T. R. E. & Halstead, S. M. (1988) A scale for rating drug-induced akathisia (abstract). Schizophrenia Research, 1, 249.Google Scholar
Barton, A., Bowie, J. & Ebmeier, K. (1990) Low plasma iron status and akathisia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 53, 671674.Google Scholar
Ben-Schachar, D., Finberg, J. P. M. & Youdim, M. D. H. (1985) Effects of iron chelators on dopamine D2 receptors. Journal of Neurochemistry, 145, 9991005.Google Scholar
Blake, D. R., Williams, A. C., Pall, H., et al (1986) Iron and akathisia (letter). British Medical Journal, 292, 1393.Google Scholar
Blom, S. & Ekbom, K. A. (1961) Comparison between akathisia developing on treatment with phenothiazine derivatives and the restless legs syndrome. Acta Medica Scandinavica, 170, 689694.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Braude, W. M., Barnes, T. R. E. & Gore, S. M. (1983) Clinical characteristics of akathisia: a systematic investigation of acute psychiatric inpatient admissions. British Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 139150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, K. W., Glen, S. E. & White, T. (1987) Low-serum iron status and akathisia. Lancet, i, 12341236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, W. G., Raskind, M. A., Gordon, T., et al (1985) Iron pigment in the brain of a man with tardive dyskinesia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 364365.Google Scholar
Fahn, S. (1983) Long-term treatment of tardive dyskinesia with presynaptically acting dopamine-depleting agents. In Advances in Neurology, Vol. 37: Experimental Therapeutics of Movement Disorders (eds Fahn, S., Calne, D. B. & Shoulson, I.), pp. 267276. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Freedman, D. X. & De Jong, J. (1961) Factors that determine drug-induced akathisia. Diseases of the Nervous System, 22, 6976.Google Scholar
Gibb, W. R. G. & Lees, A. J. (1986) The restless legs syndrome. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 62, 329333.Google Scholar
Hunter, R., Blackwood, W. & Smith, M. C. (1968) Neuropathological findings in three cases of persistent dyskinesia following phenothiazine medication. Journal of Neurological Science, 7, 263273.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kjellin, K. G. (1966) Determination of iron content in the cerebrospinal fluid. Journal of Neurochemistry, 13, 413421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munetz, M. R. & Cornes, C. L. (1982) Akathisia, pseudoakathisia and tardive dyskinesia. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 23, 345352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nemes, Z. C., Rotrosen, J., Anorist, B., et al (1991) Serum iron levels and akathisia. Biological Psychiatry, 29, 411413.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Loughlin, V., Dickie, A. C. & Ebmeier, K. P. (1991) Serum iron transferrin in acute neuroleptic induced akathisia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 54, 363364.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pall, H. S., Williams, A. C. & Blake, D. R. (1986) Iron, akathisia and antipsychotic drugs (letter). Lancet, 2, 1469.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rey, M.-J., Schulz, P., Costa, C., et al (1989) Guidelines for the dosage of neuroleptics. I: Chlorpromazine equivalents of orally administered neuroleptics. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 4, 95104.Google Scholar
Sachdev, P. & Longeragan, C. (1991) Acute drug-induced akathisia is not associated with low serum iron status. Psychopharmacology, 103, 138139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stein, M. B. & Pohlman, E. R. (1987) Tardive akathisia associated with low-dose haloperidol use (letter). Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 7, 202203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tench, D. & Soni, S. D. (1993) Serum iron abnormalities in neuroleptic induced akathisia in schizophrenics. British Journal of Psychiatry (in press).Google Scholar
Van Putten, T., May, P. R. A. & Marder, S. R. (1984) Akathisia with haloperidol and thiothixene. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 10361039.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Putten, T. & Marder, S. R. (1987) Behavioural toxicity of antipsychotic drugs. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 48 (suppl. 9): 1319.Google ScholarPubMed
Wiltink, W. F., Kruithof, J., Mol, C., et al (1973) Diurnal and nocturnal variations of the serum iron in normal subjects. Clinica Chemica Acta, 49, 99104.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.