the "atypicals" are big business. shrinks, for their part, like to act as if they've got safe, effective, modern treatments. those factors combined = the 'atypicals' are being sprayed on people like crazy, and long term problems have popped up and are popping up.

-any- major tranquilizer/antipsychotic can cause TD, even clozapine. the assumption was that the 'atypicals' would be far safer than the old drugs. it now seems...

it really depends. low to moderate doses of thorazine, perphenazine, etc. actually compare fairly well to standard doses of the 'atypicals,' at least in terms of tolerability and TD. -some- of the 'atypicals' do seem to do better in managing depression than the older drugs, and they don't seem to cause low mood (dysphoria) as often.

so...its really a question of personal susceptibility, what's being treated, the other drugs on board, and the individual tranquilizer in question. abilify -can- (and does) cause TD, but the risk may be lower than risperidone. my former shrink claimed that abilify is safer in all respects (including TD) than seroquel or zyprexa, but...a) shrinks lie b) surprisingly, a lot of doctors (especially shrinks) do -not- read the literature once they're in practice, so its also limited to what they see and the conclusions they come to, as individuals.

personally, i take high dose antioxidants and b-vitamins (Orthomolecular) to help w/ overall health and also reduce the risks from psych treatment. TD, in particular, may happen in part because of free radicals/oxidative stress, caused by the tranquilizers. high dose antioxidants help neutralize the oxidative stress, improving tolerability and reducing the risk of TD (hopefully...fingers crossed on this one).

hope this helps. :-)