PhD conferral Ms Charlotte L. Mentzel, MSc.

“The course recognition and treatment of movement disorders in severe mental illness”

Keywords: severe mental illness, treatment, medication

This dissertation describes an 18-year study of patients with severe mental illnesses (SMI) conducted in Curacao. Medicine use is common among this group, and the prevalence of movement disorders, for example tremor (trembling), slowness and abnormal movements of the face, is 80%. These disorders are associated with shame and non-compliance with medication regimens. The study results show that switching from one antipsychotic drug to another does not reduce the prevalence of movement disorders, and that tremor responds well to treatment. Based on these results, the guideline for schizophrenia should be adjusted. Patients with SMI differ from less severely ill patients in various ways. Researchers advocate a separate guideline for patients with SMI in order to improve their quality of life.