A syndrome of abnormal movements and dementia in leucotomized patients treated with phenothiazines

In the course of a survey of a mental hospital population, patients were observed with abnormal movements, most marked in the face and tongue, and dementia, who at first sight presented a clinical picture of Huntington's chorea. All were found to have received prolonged treatment with chlorpromazine and/or other phenothiazine derivatives following prefrontal leucotomy. In none was there a history of encephalitis, nor was a family history of a similar disorder traced despite detailed enquiry. We report in detail three cases and mention two others and discuss the relative importance of leucotomy and phenothiazines in the aetiology of this syndrome.