The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of lecithin in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia by double-blind controlled method. In addition, the characteristic features of the symptoms of tardive dyskinesia were investigated
The subjects were seventeen chronic schizophrenics with tardive dyskinesia hospitalized at National Seoul Mental Hospital. They were examined by two rater for the severity of tardive dyskinesia by means of Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS).
This study was conducted by a double-blind crossover evaluation of lecithin therapy in seventeen subject randomly assigned to two groups, each groups received either lecithin or placebo for the first two weeks of this study and next two weeks, each group received the alternate therapy, lecithin or the placebo.
The results were as follows:
1) There was no significant difference between live rating and video rating for the clinical manifestations of tadive dyskinesia. In analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the rating method variance, the therapy variance and body areas variance, there was a significance in the both of therapeutic variance and body area variance.
2) As to the distribution of symptoms, the most involved area was the tongue, and the next area was extremities.
3) In the therapeutic effect, lecithin was found to have a significantly superior effect to placebo, especially most effective to the dyskinetic movement of tongue.
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