Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:536-538
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
Cogwheel rigidity related to lithium maintenance
B Shopsin and S Gershon
Neurological examinations of 27 outpatients receiving lithium carbonate
maintenance therapy for recurrent affective illness revealed that most of
the patients receiving lithium for more than 8 months had cogwheel
rigidity. The data suggest a positive correlation between the duration of
lithium maintenance and the severity of cogwheeling. Intravenous
administration of benztropine, an antiparkinsonian drug, did not abolish or
significantly ameliorate this symptom.
