Scopolamine effects in vestibular defensiveness.
Disturbed vestibular function secondary to brain stem injury may result in postural gravitational insecurity, and aversion reactions or intolerance to movement. The Transderm scopolamine disc was applied in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of five post-head-injury patients who underwent provocative vestibular stimulation such as turning in a wheelchair, head shaking, and the log roll. Four of the patients showed improvement in exquisite sensitivity to rotational movement. A surprise finding of improved truncal stability in two of the more severely injured patients indicates a potential usefulness of the scopolamine patch for patients with truncal ataxia.
D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004244:Dizziness / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012399:Rotation; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*
D012601:Scopolamine