Tardive Dyskinesia

Tardive Dyskinesia & Animals

Tardive dyskinesia is a side effect of a class of psychoactive prescription medications known as dopamine antagonists. One such medication is metoclopramide, often sold under the name Reglan. Side effects of this drug are rare in animals, but some that are predisposed to seizures may experience them more often. Other animals may experience drowsiness or hyperactivity. If you suspect your pet is having an adverse reaction to metoclopramide, discontinue the medication and inform your veterinarian.

Rats and Modeling Tardive Dyskinesia

Some studies have introduced tardive dyskinesia in laboratory animals such as rats and monkeys in order to learn how humans contract this disorder. While the relationship between monkeys and humans may be apparent (both are classified as primates), the relationship between humans and rats is less apparent.

Because human subjects are often hesitant to participate in tardive dyskinesia studies, researchers have made several attempts to create a "model" of tardive dyskinesia symptoms using laboratory animals. In 1989, two psychologists at the University of California were able to create a computer model of these movements in rats using video and ultraviolet light. What they learned was that rats treated with antipsychotic drugs over a period of several months began to develope a "characteristic alteration" in their movements similar to those observed in human patients.

At the time, this study was looked upon by the scientific community as hopeful, but not definitive. A Brazilian study focusing on older rats in 1997 supported the idea that treatment with a specific antipsychotic could create an acceptable model for studying tardive dyskinesia mechanisms in human patients.

Sources

  1. Bergamo, M., et. al. "Effects of Age on a New Animal Model of Tardive Dyskinesia." Neurobiology of Aging (1997).
  2. Bower, B. "Rat Model of Tardive Dyskinesia Gets Boost." Science News, 11 November 1989.
  3. Kulkarni, S.K. and P.S. Naidu. "Isoniazid-Induced Orofactial Dyskinesia in Rats: An Experimental Model for Tardive Dyskinesia." Indian Journal of Pharmacology, no. 33 (2001).
  4. Murphy, William, et. al. "Resolution of the Early Placental Mammal Radiation Using Bayesian Phylogenetics." Science, 14 December 2001.
  5. Samad N, Khan A, Perveen T, Haider S, Abdul Haleem M, Haleem DJ. "Increase in the Effectiveness of Somatodendritic 5-HT-1A Receptors in a Rat model of Tardive Dyskinesia." Acta Neurobioligae Experimentalis vol. 64 no. 4 (2007).
  6. Tamminga, C.A., et. al. "Neuroleptic-induced Vacuous Chewing Movements as an Animal Model of Tardive Dyskinesia: a Study in Three Rat Strains." Psycho-pharmacology vol. 102 (1990).