Gilles de la Tourette syndrome after long-term chlorpromazine therapy

Abstract

Following 6 years of continuous chlorpromazine therapy for schizophrenia, a young woman developed multifocal tics and vocalizations characteristic of Tourette syndrome. The symptoms first appeared when chlorpromazine was withdrawn. They were permanent, although partially ameliorated by chronic haloperidol therapy. Because of her age and past history, these symptoms were attributed to chronic neuroleptic therapy analogous to neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia, rather than to Tourette syndrome per se. These symptoms suggest that chronic receptor-site blockade can result in hypersensitivity of dopamine receptor sites, and that this may play a role in the pathophysiology of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. This is the first evidence that hypersensitivity of dopamine receptors is involved in the pathophysiology of Tourette syndrome.