title: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6): clinical pilot trial with gabapentin.
abstract: The clinical effect of the GABAergic drug gabapentin was evaluated in 11 patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6). The total period of gabapentin treatment was 4 weeks, and outcome measures were determined with the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scales (ICARS) and postural sway studies. At week 4, 5 patients showed a decrease of the ICARS values by more than 10% compared with the pre-treatment baseline. Eight patients showed a more than 10% decrease of the sway area (SA) and/or sway path length (SPL) values in postural sway studies. The ICARS values and SA/SPL values were not necessarily consistent in each patient, but 3 patients showed a more than 10% decrease in the ICRAS, SA, and SPL values at week 4 when compared to the pre-treatment baseline. As a whole, the efficacy of gabapentin was not statistically confirmed in the 4-week trial because of the variation in efficacy in each patient, but the data are indicative that some SCA6 patients could benefit from gabapentin treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (Neurology and Rheumatology), Shinshu University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Daigo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Shu-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikeda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000588:Amines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D000077206:Gabapentin; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010865:Pilot Projects; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000187:drug effects; D020754:Spinocerebellar Ataxias / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000077206:Gabapentin