Akathisia is a movement disorder characterized by a feeling of inner restlessness and a compelling need to be in constant motion, as well as by actions such as rocking while standing or sitting, lifting the feet as if marching on the spot, and crossing and uncrossing the legs while sitting. People with akathisia are unable to sit or keep still, are prone to feelings of restlessness, and they may also fidget, rock from foot to foot, and pace.
Antipsychotics (also known as neuroleptics), particularly the first generation antipsychotics, are the leading cause of akathisia. When antipsychotic-induced, akathisia is an extrapyramidal side effect. Akathisia is also a symptom of psychosis, bipolar disorder, and agitated depression. Akathisia is a component of the repetitive movements in some cases of autism and intellectual disability. Other known causes include side effects of other medications, and nearly any physical dependence-inducing drug during drug withdrawal. It is also associated with Parkinson's disease and related syndromes.
The term was coined by the Czech neuropsychiatrist Ladislav Ha?kovec (1866-1944), who described the phenomenon in 1901. The term is from Greek ???????? kathízein - "to sit", a- indicating negation or absence, lit. "inability to sit".
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Signs and symptoms
"Akathisia may range in intensity from a sense of disquiet or anxiety, to excruciating discomfort, particularly in the knees. Patients typically pace or move their legs for hours because the pressure on the knees reduces the discomfort somewhat; once their knees and legs become fatigued and they are unable to continue pacing, they sit or lie down, although this does not relieve the akathisia." At high doses or with potent drugs such as haloperidol (Haldol) or chlorpromazine (Thorazine/Largactil), the feeling can last all day from awakening to sleep. Akathisia can cause movement in the hands, arms, and trunk muscles. However, some people experience akathisia with no external signs, and is described as follows: "The akathisia affects the sufferer inside, causing feelings of despair, agitation, intense panic and worry, an augur of disaster that feels completely real, and in some cases, the person actually has a physical sensation of pain in the solar plexus area of the body that they claim feels hot to the touch, a burning ache that is unbearable." Their stillness is often a co-occurring extrapyramidal side effect of neuroleptic medication called akinesia. "High-functioning patients have described the feeling as a sense of inner tension and torment or chemical torture. A term many sufferers use is the feeling like they want to "peel off their own skin." Akathisia is linked to suicidal ideation and should be treated. In a psychiatric setting, patients who suffer from neuroleptic-induced akathisia often react by refusing treatment. In addition, patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are extremely susceptible to drug-induced akathesia, and, in a study of OCD patients on SSRIs, they developed severe akathisia after a single dose of the antipsychotic Amisulpride.
When misdiagnosis occurs in neuroleptic-induced akathisia, it is mistaken for primary akathisia and a worsening of the underlying disease. The treatment for many doctors, then, is to raise the dose of the akathisia-causing medication or add another neuroleptic, which often makes the akathisia worse. Doctors prescribe anti-anxiety medication, such as benzodiazepines, which is usually only partly effective in mitigating the anxiety caused by akathisia. However, withdrawal from long-term use of benzodiazepines can also cause akathesia. "Neuro-psychologist Dr. Dennis Staker had drug-induced akathisia for two days. His description of his experience was this: 'It was the worst feeling I have ever had in my entire life. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.'" Many patients describe symptoms of neuropathic pain akin to fibromyalgia and restless legs syndrome. In Han et al. (2013), the authors describe restless legs syndrome's relation to akathisia, "Some researchers regard RLS as a 'focal akathisia' [in the legs]." Although these side effects disappear quickly and remarkably when the medication is stopped, tardive, or late-persisting akathisia may go on long after the offending drug is discontinued, sometimes for a period of years. Healy, et al. (2006), described the following regarding akathisia: tension, insomnia, a sense of discomfort, motor restlessness, and marked anxiety and panic. Increased labile affect can result, such as weepiness.
Severe akathisia can become a very harrowing experience. Jack Henry Abbott (1981) describes the sensation:
...[It comes] from so deep inside you, you cannot locate the source of the pain ... The muscles of your jawbone go berserk, so that you bite the inside of your mouth and your jaw locks and the pain throbs. ... Your spinal column stiffens so that you can hardly move your head or your neck and sometimes your back bends like a bow and you cannot stand up. ... You ache with restlessness, so you feel you have to walk, to pace. And then as soon as you start pacing, the opposite occurs to you; you must sit and rest. Back and forth, up and down you go ... you cannot get relief ...
"Many patients often have difficulty describing the incomprehensible pain and restlessness from severe akathisia," especially if they also experience cognitive impairment, have co-occurring akinesia (stillness,) or have an intellectual impairment. In addition, not all observable restless motion is akathisia. For example, mania, agitated depression, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may look like akathisia, but the movements feel voluntary and not due to restlessness.
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Causes
Pathophysiological
Han et al. (2013) reported that upon examination of three patients who experienced abrupt onset of restlessness characteristic of akathisia and RLS, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed pontine ischemia (lack of blood to the pons area of the brain) potentially leading to infarction - the death of oxygen-starved tissue. Han et al. wrote, "The features of our three patients suggest that RLS and akathisia may have a common pathophysiological mechanism related to the pontine region of the brain."
Drug-induced
Akathisia is frequently associated with the use of dopamine receptor antagonist antipsychotic drugs. Understanding is still limited on the pathophysiology of akathisia, but it is seen to be associated with medications which block dopaminergic transmission in the brain. Additionally, drugs with successful therapeutic effects in the treatment of medication-induced akathisia have provided additional insight into the involvement of other transmitter systems. These include benzodiazepines, ?-adrenergic blockers, and serotonin antagonists. Another major cause of the syndrome is the withdrawal observed in drug dependent individuals, including the withdrawal of long-term prescription benzodiazapines. Since dopamine deficiency (or disruptions in dopamine signalling) appears to play an important role in the development of RLS, a form of akathisia focused in the legs, the sudden withdrawal or rapidly decreased dosage of drugs which increase dopamine signalling may create similar deficits of the chemical which mimic dopamine antagonism and thus can precipitate RLS. This is why sudden cessation of opioids, cocaine, serotonergics, and other euphoria-inducing substances commonly produce RLS as a side-effect.
It has been correlated with Parkinson's disease and related syndromes. It is unclear, however, whether this is due more to Parkinson's or the drugs used to treat it, such as carbidopa/levodopa (levocarb).
Antidepressants can also induce the appearance of akathisia, due to increased serotonin signalling within the central nervous system. This also explains why serotonin antagonists are often a very effective treatment. The 2006 UK study by Healy et al. observed that akathisia is often miscoded in antidepressant clinical trials as "agitation, emotional lability, and hyperkinesis (overactivity)". The study further points out that misdiagnosis of akathisia as simple motor restlessness occurs, but that this is more properly classed as dyskinesia.
It was discovered that akathisia involves increased levels of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which is associated with mechanisms that regulate aggression, alertness, and arousal.
The table below summarizes factors that can induce akathisia, grouped by type, with examples or brief explanations for each:
Diagnosis
The presence and severity of akathisia can be measured using the Barnes Akathisia Scale, which assesses both objective and subjective criteria. Precise assessment of akathisia is problematic, as it is difficult to differentiate from a multitude of disorders with similar symptoms. In a study of movement disorders induced by neuroleptics, akathisia was found in only 26% of patients originally diagnosed with akathisia. The primary distinguishing features of akathisia in comparison with other syndromes are primarily subjective characteristics, such as the feeling of inner restlessness. Akathisia can commonly be mistaken for agitation secondary to psychotic symptoms or mood disorder, antipsychotic dysphoria, restless legs syndrome (RLS), anxiety, insomnia, drug withdrawal states, tardive dyskinesia, or other neurological and medical conditions.
Additionally, the controversial diagnosis of "pseudoakathisia" is given, as noted by Mark J. Garcia. In his article discussing akathisia among adults with severe and profound intellectual disability, he describes pseudoakathisia as "comprising all the symptoms of abnormal movements seen with akathisia, but without a sense of restlessness".
Classification
Treatment
Case reports and small randomized studies suggest benzodiazepines, propranolol, and anticholinergics may help treat acute akathisia, but are much less effective in treating chronic akathisia. Taylor et al. found success in lowering the dose of antipsychotic medication as an initial response to drug-induced akathisia, which should be done gradually, if possible. To minimize the risk of akathisia from antipsychotics, the clinician is advised to be conservative when increasing dosages.
If the patient is experiencing akathisia due to opioid withdrawal, and continuing use of opioids is not viable, drugs typically prescribed for acute idiopathic akathisia can be effective. GABA analogues pregabalin and gabapentin, as well as drugs approved for treating RLS, may also be effective in certain cases.
One study showed vitamin B6 to be effective for the treatment of neuroleptic-induced akathisia.
N-acetylcysteine also showed a positive effect on akathisia in a randomized control trial.
Additional pharmacologic interventions found to have antiakathisia effects (especially for neuroleptic-induced akathisia) include ß-adrenergic antagonists (e.g., propranolol), benzodiazepines (e.g., lorazepam), anticholinergics (e.g., benztropine), and serotonin antagonists (e.g., cyproheptadine) as an alternative.
Trihexyphenidyl has also been prescribed to treat akathisia.
Epidemiology
Published epidemiological data for akathisia are mostly limited to treatment periods preceding the arrival of second-generation antipsychotics. Sachdev (1995) reported an incidence rate of acute akathisia of 31% for 100 patients treated for 2 weeks with antipsychotic medications. Sachdev (1995) reported a prevalence range from 0.1% to 41%. In all likelihood, rates of prevalence are lower for current treatment as second-generation antipsychotics carry a lower risk of akathisia.
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