Low-dose aripiprazole for refractory burning mouth syndrome.
We report a case of refractory burning mouth syndrome (BMS) ameliorated with low dose of aripiprazole. The patient was a 66-year-old female who had suffered from chronic burning pain in her tongue for 13 months. No abnormality associated with the burning sensation was detected in the laboratory tests and the oral findings. Considering the clinical feature and the history together, we diagnosed the burning sensation as BMS. The BMS pain was decreased by aripiprazole (powder) 1.0 mg/d, though no other antidepressants had satisfying pain relief. It could be supposed that the efficacy of aripiprazole is caused by dopamine stabilization in this case, and BMS might have a subtype that is reactive to aripiprazole. Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of aripiprazole for BMS.
Psychosomatic Dentistry Clinic, Dental Hospital, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Yojiro
Y
Umezaki
Psychosomatic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Miho
M
Takenoshita
Psychosomatic Dentistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Akira
A
Toyofuku
burning mouth syndrome; chronic pain; low-dose aripiprazole