title: Riluzole therapy in cervical dystonia.
abstract: We conducted a 6-week open-label pilot study with blinded video rating of riluzole (50 mg twice a day) in six patients with cervical dystonia (CD) refractory to botulinum toxin A and oral pharmacological treatment. The Tsui rating scale served as primary efficacy measure and improved significantly under riluzole (P = 0.002). In three of six patients, the Tsui score improved by more than 30% with a greater 50% reduction in the head tremor/jerk subscore of the Tsui scale. These data suggest that riluzole may be helpful in a subgroup of patients with disabling CD refractory to other therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Innsbruck University Hospital, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Gregor K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Wenning
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wissel
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baldauf
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seppi
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brenneis
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Poewe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004421:Dystonia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D019782:Riluzole / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D019782:Riluzole