Transdermal nicotine for Tourette's syndrome

✍ Scribed by R. Doug Shytle; Archie A. Silver; Mary Katherine Philipp; Brian J. McConville; Paul R. Sanberg

• Book ID: 102655976
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 956 KB
• Volume: 38
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0272-4391
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-2299(199607/08)38:3/4<290::aid-ddr18>3.0.co;2-2

✦ Synopsis

The present review evaulates the therapeutic response to the transdermal nicotine patch (TNP) in Tourette's syndrome (TS) patients. Twenty TS patients (17 children and adolescents, 3 adults), in 18 of whom tic symptoms were not controlled with neuroleptics and 2 of whom were free of medication, were followed for various lenghts of time following the application of two TPs (each 7mg/24 hours). While there was a broad range in individual response, it was determined that each application of a single TNP produced a significant reduction in Yale Global Tic Severity Scale mean scores for an average duration of approximately 1 to 2 weeks post-application. Individual case reports are discusssed as well as the possible therapeutic mechanisms of transdermal nicotine in reducing the symptoms of TS. Although our data should be viewed as preliminary until controlled studies are completed, the present open-trial findings suggest that transdermal nicotine is an effective adjunct to neuroleptic theraphy of TS. Drug Dev. Res. 38:29&298.