RESUMO
UNLABELLED: A role of insulin-dependent diabetes in the onset of tardive dyskinesia has been reported and relies on weak physiopathological evidence. OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between the occurrence of tardive dyskinesia and variations in glucose levels in a population of patients under typical antipsychotic treatment. METHODS: Sixty-nine patients with a schizophrenic disorder and who had been receiving continuous neuroleptic treatment for at least 2 years were included. Tardive dyskinesias were assessed by the Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale (AIMS) and glucose levels by glucose oxidase method. RESULTS: No significant differences in values of fasting glucose (FG) levels, post-prandial glucose (PPG) levels and glycosylated haemoglobin between the groups with and without tardive dyskinesia were found. In the sub-group with normal FG, comparison of post-prandial delta glucose levels (difference between PPG and FG) between the two group with and without tardive dyskinesia showed a significant difference (p < 0.05). This comparison also showed a correlation between post-prandial delta glucose levels and the AIMS score in the group with tardive dyskinesia (r = 0.482, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Glucose metabolism could be involved in patients with tardive dyskinesia. Various factors outside antipsychotic treatment can favour a disturbance of glucose metabolism, which may not be severe.
