Akathisia
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Akathisia is a movement disorder characterized by a feeling of inner restlessness and inability to stay still. Usually the legs are most prominently affected. People may fidget, rock back and forth, or pace. Others may just feel uneasy.
Antipsychotics, particularly the first generation antipsychotics, are a leading cause. Other causes may include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, metoclopramide, reserpine, Parkinson’s disease, and untreated schizophrenia. It may also occur upon stopping antipsychotics. The underlying mechanism is believed to involve dopamine. Diagnosis is based on symptoms. It differs from restless leg syndrome in that akathisia is not associated with sleeping.
Treatment may include switching to an antipsychotic with a lower risk of the condition. Medications with tentative evidence of benefit include diphenhydramine, trazodone, benztropine, mirtazapine, and beta blockers. Vitamin B6 or correcting iron deficiency may also be useful. Around half of people on antipsychotics develop the condition. The term was first used by Ladislav Haškovec, who described the phenomenon in 1901. It is from Greek a- meaning "not" and Template:Lang kathízein meaning "to sit" or in other words an "inability to sit".
