Am J Psychiatry 1984; 141:412-415
Copyright © 1984 by American Psychiatric Association
Propranolol in the treatment of neuroleptic-induced akathisia
JF Lipinski Jr, GS Zubenko, BM Cohen and PJ Barreira
Fourteen patients with neuroleptic-induced akathisia were treated with
propranolol in an open trial. All patients demonstrated substantial
improvement of their akathisia; nine of the 14 obtained complete remission.
Response was quite rapid, occurring within 24 hours in most cases. Doses
required for improvement were low (30-80 mg/day), and side effects were
few. Lithium-induced tremor improved considerably, but symptoms of
parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia showed little change. Preliminary
results with certain other beta blockers suggest that they are less
effective than propranolol in the treatment of akathisia.
