In a previous post, I have discussed about symbicort side effects.
Treatment of extrapyramidal side effects has been seen to have steadily increased due to the rise in psychotic disorders among the people. These psychotic disorders are generally seen to have appeared due to the tensions in modern life as well as due to continued treatment through medication. In the latter case the doctor treats the patient over a period of time and through prolonged intake of prescription medicine the patient develops a series of movement disorders.
Treatment of these movement disorders has been a great challenge for modern medical science and several medicines have come forth to claim the role of mitigating these symptoms.
Extrapyramidal system and its effects
The human body is an intricate network of nerves and veins and is guided by the signals from the brain. The movement of the body is guided by signals through the brain and these coordinates in such a way that the whole process looks as smooth and as effortless as possible. However, these movements are not possible without the proper functioning of the extrapyramidal motor system inside the brain.
- Side Effects of Extrapyramidal
In other words, the extrapyramidal motor system is a network of nerves located inside the brain that gives instructions for the body’s movement to perform in a coordinated manner. When the system fails to perform in coordination it is then known as extrapyramidal symptoms. This also means that the body movement is in a mild to significant disordered state and acts involuntarily in several ways.
Many symptoms are associated with drugs used for controlling psychosis. The most common are those that are treated for schizophrenia which again produces extrapyramidal side effects.
Does medication work toward of extrapyramidal symptoms?
Extrapyramidal symptoms occur when the body’s extrapyramidal system is affected in various ways. One such way is known as akinesia which means inability of the human body to initiate its own movements. The other is known as akathisia which means the body’s inability to remain motionless and thus looks very restless.
Some of the above symptoms can be seen as either mild or very acute and the patients afflicted with these have to undergo a set of medication as advised by his or her doctor. Since the patients are already under medication for the treatment of mild or acute psychotic disorders there is greater risk of the body’s system to adjust to the newer course of medication. Hence, only a very experienced doctor can help the patient to get him or her on a normal health level.
Medication in almost all such cases is not without any side effects as has been found everywhere in general. This is because doctors while treating psychotic conditions on the patients wait for a period of time for the medication to have effect on the patient. However, while treating the patient pyramidal symptoms arise and these have again to be treated with another dosage which could lead to complications or permanent acute disorders. Thus, it complicates matter as agents or medication carries their own side effects while the primary treatment is in process.
The symptoms most commonly found are involuntary tongue movements, thrusting out the tongue, smacking the lips from time to time, moving the fingers randomly, blinking the eye rapidly and frequently and involuntary movements of legs and arms. These undoubtedly mean that extrpyramidal side effects have appeared on the patient.
In several cases the recovery of the patient against one or many such symptoms remains limited and may become a permanent feature for life.
Extrapyramidal Side Effects
Antipsychotics are prescription medications that are generally used over the patient to stem the mild to severe psychotic disorders. These are usually known as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders or psychotic depression. The rise in the cases of psychotic disorders is mainly due to the lifestyle of the people and the tensioned atmosphere that prevails everywhere. Yet it is the medication that is to be blamed for the side effects that appear involuntarily on the patient.
The side effects if not immediately treated can have a devastating affect on the patients balancing system. Again, a timely check up if and when the symptoms are seen can make the doctor change the dosage of the previous medication or administer an entirely new type of medication.
The above factor assumes importance due to the fact that a number of studies have revealed that ‘tardine symptoms’ as they are called is more likely to remain as a permanent symptom even after all medication have stopped.
Although research is on for bringing about an effective treatment for the secondary symptoms, it is still too early to see any immediate breakthroughs in the field of medicine relating to the above symptoms. Till then extrapyramidal side effects would remain an inseparable part of the body system.
In the following post, I will talk about seasonique side effects
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