Extrapyramidal symptoms

<p>Extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) are <a href="/facts/Signs_and_symptoms/BzP6MrTN">symptoms</a> that are archetypically associated with the <a href="/facts/Extrapyramidal_system/F9VlK87b">extrapyramidal system</a> of the brain's <a href="/facts/Cerebral_cortex/GpXosGHP">cerebral cortex</a>. When such symptoms are caused by <a href="/facts/Medication/h9mhwWP2">medications</a> or other drugs, they are also known as extrapyramidal side effects (EPSE). The symptoms can be <a href="/facts/Acute_(medicine)/jvxNdA6B">acute</a> (short-term) or <a href="/facts/Chronic_condition/6CqLP41r">chronic</a> (long-term). They include <a href="/facts/Movement_disorder/v5Q28x1f">movement dysfunction</a> such as <a href="/facts/Dystonia/j0jeA0XD">dystonia</a> (continuous spasms and muscle contractions), <a href="/facts/Akathisia/hFUb0Uqr">akathisia</a> (may manifest as motor restlessness), <a href="/facts/Parkinsonism/orfkyX69">parkinsonism</a> characteristic symptoms such as <a href="/facts/Rigidity_(neurology)/XLnsqIDJ">rigidity</a>, <a href="/facts/Hypokinesia/szUKFDEn">bradykinesia</a> (slowness of movement), <a href="/facts/Tremor/rD6ogM7X">tremor</a>, and <a href="/facts/Tardive_dyskinesia/IAR6aJBJ">tardive dyskinesia</a> (irregular, jerky movements). Extrapyramidal symptoms are a reason why subjects drop out of <a href="/facts/Clinical_trial/q8LMr832">clinical trials</a> of <a href="/facts/Antipsychotic/7bNTg7T3">antipsychotics</a>; of the 213 (14.6%) subjects that dropped out of one of the largest clinical trials of antipsychotics (the CATIE trial [Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness], which included 1460 randomized subjects), 58 (27.2%) of those discontinuations were due to EPS.
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Extrapyramidal symptoms open-in-new

Extrapyramidal symptoms