Some people who have schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses develop catatonia, which consists of extreme lack of movement or constant repetitive movement over which they seem to have very little control. Whilst in a catatonic state these people are unable to interact with their environment and may go on to acquire secondary problems such as pneumonia, blood clotting problems (thrombosis), malnutrition or dehydration. Current treatments for this are either drugs, which are given by injection, or electric shock treatment (electroconvulsive therapy). The aim of this review is to look at how effective benzodiazepines are compared to placebo or other drug treatments in treating this problem. However, while some clinical trials that seemed relevant were identified, no usable data could be extracted from them. There is no good trial-derived data on this subject. However, there are five trials on which more information needs to be collected. In the longer term, to make sure people with catatonia receive the most effective treatment, this is an area that would benefit from good research and well planned and reported trials. Also, since the condition is rare, there should be good communication between those involved in researching it.
(Plain language summary prepared for this review by Janey Antoniou of RETHINK, UK www.rethink.org)