Vitamin B₆ versus mianserin and placebo in acute neuroleptic-induced akathisia: A randomized, double-blind, controlled study

Treatment strategies against acute neuroleptic-induced akathisia (NIA) include anticholinergic (antimuscarinic) agents, dopamine agonists, GABAergic agents, β-blockers, benzodiazepines, and serotonin antagonists. However, many patients who have acute akathisia fail to respond. In previous studies, mianserin and vitamin B6 were found to be effective in the treatment of acute akathisia. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of B6, mianserin and placebo in the treatment of acute NIA. Sixty schizophrenia and schizoaffective inpatients who have NIA were randomly divided to receive vitamin B6 1200 mg/d, mianserin 15 mg/d, or placebo for 5 days, in a double-blind design. The Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and Clinical Global Impression were used to assess the severity of NIA and psychotic symptoms. The assessment was made at baseline and daily for the duration of the study. Compared with the placebo group, the vitamin B6-treated and mianserin-treated patients showed a significant improvement in the subjective (P < 0.0001), subjective distress (P < 0.0001), and global (P < 0.0001) subscales. The objective subscale did not show significant positive results (P = 0.056), but there was a trend toward symptom amelioration in both groups. A reduction of at least 2 points on the Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale global subscale was noted in the vitamin B6 group (13/23, 56%) as well as in the mianserin groups (13/20, 65%), and in only one patient in the placebo group (1/17, 6%; P < 0.0005). Our results indicate that high doses of B6 and a low dose of mianserin may be a useful addition to current treatments of NIA. The efficacy of vitamin B6 and mianserin suggests that the pathophysiology of acute NIA is heterogeneous with the various subtypes of acute NIA responding differently to the various pharmacological approaches.