title: Quetiapine and essential tremor.
abstract: The safety and tolerability of quetiapine (up to 75 mg/day) as monotherapy on essential tremor were investigated in an open-label study in 10 patients. Five men and 5 women, with a mean age of 66.3 years, affected by essential tremor participated in the trial. They were treated with increasing doses of quetiapine to 75 mg/day over a 6-week period. Side effects included a paradoxical psychiatric reaction in one and anger in another, and in both cases quetiapine was discontinued. In two other patients, somnolence led to dose reduction. There were no pre- versus post-treatment differences, but 3 out of 10 patients benefited (improvement >20%). Although the study was not powered to assess efficacy, quetiapine seems to be a safe drug for the treatment of essential tremor.
authors.affiliation: Parkinson's Disease and Abnormal Movements Program, Institute of Neurosciences, José de San Martin Hospital de Clínicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fmicheli@fibertel.com.ar
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Micheli
authors.forename: María Graciela
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Cersósimo
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Raina
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gatto
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate