Dr. Rakesh Jain & Sherland Peterson Discuss Tardive Dyskinesia

Currently, more than 14 million Americans have a serious mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia, conditions that can be treated with antipsychotic medicines. Use of these medicines has increased 22%, increasing the risk for developing a debilitating chronic movement condition called tardive dyskinesia.

Tardive dyskinesia can cause debilitating uncontrollable and repetitive movements that can make eating, drinking and walking difficult. While tardive dyskinesia can be treated, integrating new medicines into any existing treatment plan can be challenging. Sometimes regimens can become complex causing patients to feel overwhelmed and give up on treatment or go without treatment entirely.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment formulation – one pill, taken once-daily – that could help the millions of Americans living with a serious mental illness whose antipsychotic medications may cause this condition. This new formulation of an established treatment can be integrated into existing mental health treatment plans.

On tonight’s show, Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Texas Tech University School of Medicine is joining me to discuss tardive dyskinesia, its impact on peoples’ lives and the importance of this treatment formulation and Sherland Peterson is sharing her experience with TD, and how it has impacted her quality of life.