Mirtazapine in L-dopa-induced dyskinesias.

Abstract

Mirtazapine is a novel antidepressant with a pharmacologic profile (alpha-2 antagonist, 5HT-(1A) agonist, and 5HT-(2) antagonist) that renders it potentially useful for l-dopa-induced dyskinesias. Drugs with 5HT-(1A) agonistic activity, such as buspirone and tandospirone, have been reported to be effective in reducing l-dopa-induced dyskinesias. Furthermore, 5HT-(2) antagonism may, by reducing substantia nigra pars reticulata hyperactivity, play a role in the improvement of Parkinsonian symptoms and l-dopa-induced dyskinesias, as has been observed with ritanserin, a 5HT-(2) antagonist. Alpha-2 antagonists, such as idazoxan, have recently also been reported to improve l-dopa-induced dyskinesias. The authors investigated the antidyskinetic properties of mirtazapine by designing an open-label study of 20 Parkinsonian patients with l-dopa-induced dyskinesias. Mirtazapine proved to be moderately effective in reducing l-dopa-induced dyskinesias, either alone or in association with amantadine. Mirtazapine may be of use in patients who do not respond or are intolerant to amantadine.

• Authors: Giuseppe Meco, Edito Fabrizio, Simone Di Rezze, Andrea Alessandri, Luca Pratesi
• Journal: Clinical neuropharmacology (Clin Neuropharmacol) 2003 Jul-Aug Vol. 26 Issue 4 Pg. 179-81 ISSN: 0362-5664 [Print] United States
• PMID: 12897636 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Mianserin
• Levodopa
• Mirtazapine
• Amantadine

Topics

• Aged
• Amantadine (therapeutic use)
• Analysis of Variance
• Drug Therapy, Combination
• Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced (drug therapy)
• Humans
• Levodopa (adverse effects)
• Mianserin (analogs & derivatives, therapeutic use)
• Middle Aged
• Mirtazapine
• Statistics, Nonparametric