title: Cutaneous Adverse Effects of Neurologic Medications.
abstract: Life-threatening and benign drug reactions occur frequently in the skin, affecting 8 % of the general population and 2-3 % of all hospitalized patients, emphasizing the need for physicians to effectively recognize and manage patients with drug-induced eruptions. Neurologic medications represent a vast array of drug classes with cutaneous side effects. Approximately 7 % of the United States (US) adult population is affected by adult-onset neurological disorders, reflecting a large number of patients on neurologic drug therapies. This review elucidates the cutaneous reactions associated with medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat the following neurologic pathologies: Alzheimer disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy, Huntington disease, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, and pseudobulbar affect. A search of the literature was performed using the specific FDA-approved drug or drug classes in combination with the terms 'dermatologic,' 'cutaneous,' 'skin,' or 'rash.' Both PubMed and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were utilized, with side effects ranging from those cited in randomized controlled trials to case reports. It behooves neurologists, dermatologists, and primary care physicians to be aware of the recorded cutaneous adverse reactions and their severity for proper management and potential need to withdraw the offending medication.
authors.affiliation: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Eman
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bahrani
authors.affiliation: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Chloe E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Nunneley
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, 7200 Cambridge St., 9th Floor, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. Kass@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kass
mesh_terms: D002491:Central Nervous System Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003875:Drug Eruptions / Q000209:etiology*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
chemical_list: D002491:Central Nervous System Agents