The effect of vitamin E addition to acute neuroleptic treatment on the emergence of extrapyramidal side effects in schizophrenic patients: an open label study.

The anti-oxidant vitamin E has been reported to be effective in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia. The present open label study examined the effect of supplemental therapy with vitamin E on acute extrapyramidal symptoms and cell enzymes in patients receiving neuroleptic drugs. Thirty-nine hospitalized schizophrenic patients were randomly assigned to two groups: group 1 (n = 20) was treated with neuroleptics, and group 2 (n = 19) with neuroleptics combined with a fixed dose of vitamin E (600 IU/day), administered for two weeks. All patients were assessed with the Simpson-Angus Rating Scale (Simpson and Angus, 1970) for neuroleptic induced Parkinsonism (NIP), Barnes' Akathisia Scale (Barnes, 1989), and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale: laboratory parameters included serum creatine kinase (CK) activity, serum glutamate oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and white blood cell count (WBC). The addition of vitamin E to neuroleptic agents was associated with a trend (p = 0.08) towards prevention of the emergence of NIP compared to neuroleptic treatment alone. Addition of vitamin E to neuroleptics may reduce the severity of acute NIP in schizophrenic patients.