Tardive Parkinsonism Developing with Aripiprazole Use

Tardive Parkinsonism (TP) can develop in months or years after the onset of a neuroleptic. TP may be mistakenly diagnosed as Parkinson's disease, especially in older age. Highlighting this condition, we discuss a case of late Parkinsonism developed with aripiprazole. Seven years ago, a 65-year-old female patient was diagnosed with psychosis and prescribed aripiprazole 10 mg. She developed Parkinsonism for approximately three months. Since the patient's history and clinical findings suggested drug-related Parkinsonism, we ceased aripiprazole even though the drug had been started seven years ago. One week later, her MDS-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) score decreased from 64 to 34 points. One month later, she recovered almost completely, with a total Parkinsonism disease rating scale score of eight points. As the first case of aripiprazole with TP in the literature, this is important in terms of showing that TP can occur with atypical antipsychotics. Future case reports and systematic studies may shed more light on this issue.