RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to examine association between tardive dyskinesia and soft neurological signs in schizophrenic patients. METHODS: 35 schizophrenic inpatients who met the diagnostic criteria for tardive dyskinesia developed by Schooler and Kane and 30 schizophrenic inpatients without tardive dyskinesia were enrolled in this study. Tardive dyskinesia, soft neurological signs, and cognitive function were evaluated with Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS), Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES), and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) independently by 2 psychiatrists, respectively. Data of the two schizophrenic groups were compared and also those of 31 normal controls. RESULTS: Total schizophrenics scored higher than normal controls in total mean scores of NES (p<0.01), and its three functional area scores, sensory integration (p<0.01), motor coordination (p<0.05), and sequencing of complex motor acts (p<0.05). Patients with tardive dyskinesia showed higher prevalence rates than those without in 5 items-left graphesthesia (p<0.05), right fist-ring test (p<0.05), right fist-edge-palm test (p<0.05), right synkinesis (p<0.05), and left synkinesis (p<0.05). The total scores of NES were not significantly related to the severity of tardive dyskinesia and cognitive dysfunction. CONCLUSION: Schizophrenics had more soft neurological signs than normal subjects. Five items of NES were more impaired in the patients with tardive dyskinesia than in those without tardive dyskinesia.