Neurology
-
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Phenobarbital and propranolol in essential tremor: a double-blind controlled clinical trial.
In a double-blind study with Latin square design, phenobarbital (about 1.3 mg per kilogram), propranolol (about 1.7 mg per kilogram), and placebo were given orally for 1 month to 12 patients with essential tremor. By clinical evaluation, only propranolol appeared to be significantly more effective than placebo. ⋯ Patients' subjective evaluation and tremor amplitude measurement (by accelerometer) showed a significantly better effect of both propranolol and phenobarbital than placebo. These data suggest that phenobarbital may be a valuable alternative to propranolol in essential tremor.