Clinical neuropharmacology
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Clin Neuropharmacol · Jul 2010
Letter Case ReportsPosthypoxic myoclonus (Lance-Adams syndrome) treated with lacosamide.
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Clin Neuropharmacol · May 2010
Case ReportsTerminating prolonged refractory status epilepticus using ketamine.
Refractory status epilepticus (RSE) is an emergent and difficult neurologic problem that is not uncommon in clinical practice. In this report, we describe a 23-year-old man whose RSE was refractory to standard antiepileptic drugs and barbiturates; it was successfully terminated only with intravenous ketamine. ⋯ This case and the rare cases of ketamine experience in RSE reported in the literature show that ketamine is potentially effective to use when treating patients with RSE. Further clinical trials are warranted, however.
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The prevalence of insomnia is very high in our society. Although pharmacological treatment of insomnia is available, most hypnotics have been shown to alter sleep architecture and have many adverse effects. Gabapentin was originally designed for antiepileptic therapy; however, some studies reported that its use increases slow-wave sleep in healthy volunteers or patients. Our goal was to evaluate the benefits of gabapentin in the treatment of primary insomnia in patients. ⋯ Gabapentin enhances slow-wave sleep in patients with primary insomnia. It also improves sleep quality by elevating sleep efficiency and decreasing spontaneous arousal. The results suggest that gabapentin may be beneficial in the treatment of primary insomnia.
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Clin Neuropharmacol · Jan 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialSafety, tolerability, and cerebrospinal fluid penetration of ursodeoxycholic Acid in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive degenerative disease, which typically leads to death in 3 to 5 years. Neuronal cell death offers a potential target for therapeutic intervention. Ursodeoxycholic acid is a cytoprotective, endogenous bile acid that has been shown to be neuroprotective in experimental Huntington and Alzheimer diseases, retinal degeneration, and ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. The objective of this research was to study the safety and the tolerability of ursodeoxycholic acid in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and document effective and dose-dependent cerebrospinal fluid penetration. ⋯ These results show excellent safety and tolerability of ursodeoxycholic acid. The drug penetrates the cerebrospinal fluid in a dose-dependent manner. A large, placebo-controlled clinical trial is needed to assess the efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid in treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
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Clin Neuropharmacol · Jan 2010
Clinical TrialPregabalin in the treatment of chronic migraine: an open-label study.
Studies concerning the prophylactic treatment of chronic migraine are scarce, with topiramate being the most thoroughly studied drug at this respect. The aim of our study was to assess if pregabalin could be useful in the preventive management of chronic migraine. ⋯ Despite the limitations of an open-label design, our data suggest that pregabalin may be a useful alternative prophylaxis for chronic migraine. These promising results should be confirmed in randomized clinical trials.