Upcoming Live Webinar

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome: advances in diagnosis and treatment

Tuesday October 22, 2024
9:00 AM PDT / 12:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM BST / 6:00 PM CEST

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) was identified during early trials of haloperidol over sixty years ago. However, NMS remained obscure until hundreds of clinical reports increased recognition and confirmed acceptance of NMS as a severe drug reaction associated with dopamine-2-receptor blocking agents used primarily as antipsychotics. The prolonged delay in acceptance of NMS as an iatrogenic condition occurred in part because it was often misdiagnosed leading to tragic and fatal consequences from continued or aggressive antipsychotic treatment. In subsequent years, the accumulation of published observations enabled a more precise consensus definition of NMS, clarified risk factors and treatment strategies, renewed interest in catatonia and related hyperthermic disorders, and shed light on the pathophysiology of the syndrome. Increased awareness facilitating early diagnosis, more conservative use of antipsychotic medications, and the introduction of newer antipsychotics with fewer adverse neurological effects have reduced the incidence and mortality of NMS. In this webinar, Dr. Stanley N. Caroff will discuss evaluation, differential diagnosis, and treatment of NMS in medical as well as psychiatric settings, which remain unfamiliar to most practicing physicians. This is alarming given that antipsychotics are increasingly promoted and prescribed to an expanding number of patients, and that NMS remains potentially lethal if unrecognized, underscoring the need for continued study of this serious drug reaction.

Speaker

Prof. Emeritus Stanley N. Caroff
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, USA

Dr. Stanley N. Caroff currently is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, at the University of Pennsylvania, and has volunteer research positions at the Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center and as Director of the Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome Information Service. Primary research interests are drug-induced movement disorders including tardive dyskinesia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, acute extrapyramidal disorders and catatonia. Recent work includes; studies in antipsychotic pharmacology; treatment of schizophrenia; recognition and management of tardive dyskinesia; psychopathology of catatonia; socioeconomic disparities in studies of schizophrenia; and a critique of the scientific evidence for deep brain stimulation in behavioral disorders.