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Drugs and Treatments for Ataxia. Christopher M. Gomez The University of Chicago. Two types of treatments. Disease-modifying (neuroprotective) Symptomatic. Disease-modifying. Very few options right now. Most will be highly disease specific Some exceptions
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Drugs and Treatments for Ataxia Christopher M. Gomez The University of Chicago
Two types of treatments • Disease-modifying (neuroprotective) • Symptomatic
Disease-modifying • Very few options right now. • Most will be highly disease specific • Some exceptions • AVED, or other disorders of vitamin E deficiency • Hypothyroidism • Immune mediated ataxias • Disorders with some promise • Friedreichs ataxia: anti-oxidants, e.g. CoQ10, vitamin E, HDAC inhib. • Immunological disorders, esp MS: immunotherapies • Many promising avenues and drugs under consideration • e.g. anti-oxidants, kinase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, stem cells
Symptomatic treatments • Target to individual symptoms. • Gold standard examples are: • L-dopa for Parkinson’s • Seizure medicines for epilepsy • May not be disease-specific. • Concept of negative vs positive symptoms • All drugs have some side effects
Symptoms • Ataxia (motor incoordination, gait, limbs, speech) • Ataxic episodes • Tremor • Action • Resting • Vertigo • Blurred vision • Spasticity • Rigidity, slowness of movements • Fatigue
Ataxia • Ataxia (motor incoordination, gait, limbs, speech) • Amantadine (Symmetrel) • Buspirone (Buspar) • Ataxic episodes • Acetazolamide (Diamox) • Topiramide (Topamax) • Valproate (Depakote)
Tremor • Resting • L-dopa (Sinemet) • Intention/Action • Propranolol (Inderal) • Primidone (Mysoline) • Clonazepam (Klonopin) • Levitiracetam (Keppra) • Carbemazemine (Tegretol) • Isonoazid (INH)
Vertigo and Blurred vision • Meclizine (Antivert) • Acetazolamide (Diamox) • Topiramate (Topamax) • Gabapentin (Neurontin) • Baclofen (Lioresal) • 3, 4 Diaminopyridine • Ondansetron (Zofran) • Valproate (Depakote)
Non-ataxia motor symptoms • Spasticity • Baclofen (Lioresal) • Tizanidine (Xanaflex) • Dystonia • Baclofen (Lioresal) • Botulinum (Botox) • Rigidity, slowness of movements • Amantadine (Symmetrel) • L-dopa (Sinemet)
Sleep disorders • Restless legs • L-dopa (Sinemet) • Pramipexole (Mirapex) • Sleep apnea • C-PAP • REM behavior disorder • Clonazepam (Klonopin)
Novel Concept: Potential for Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the treatment of tremor in ataxia
DBS historydifferent targets in brain • Ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) DBS for ET and medically refractory parkinsonian tremor in 1997 • Globus pallidus interna (GPi) and subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS for PD in 2002 • GPi and STN DBS for primary dystonia under humanitarian device exemption program in 2003 • Caudal Zona Incerta (cZi) tremors, dystonia in PD and MS
DBS Anatomy zona incerta
Anatomic Location and Connection of cZi Plaha et al 2006, Brain 129: 1732-1747
Target Sites for DBS Therapy cZI Vim Thalamus: Essential Tremor Subthalamic Nucleus: Parkinson’s diseaseand Dystonia Globus Pallidus: Parkinson’s diseaseand Dystonia
Zona incerta (cZi) • Very effective in controlling various tremors, PD and dystonia • Better than VIM in controlling various tremors by electrode-by-electrode comparison, including intention tremor and proximal tremor. • Better than STN in controlling PD symptoms in direct comparison. • Very effective in controlling various dystonia as well • Possibly less complications than VIM based on current knowledge
DBS Stereotactic Frame:used for image guided target localization
DBS for MS tremor OFF ON
DBS for MS tremor OFF ON
DBS for MS tremor OFF ON
Novel concept • cZi DBS might be a good target to control various symptoms of SCA, particularly debilitating tremors, with a better efficacy and few complications. • A successful case of cZi DBS on SCA2 was reported in the literature (Freund et al, 2007).
Inclusion criteria with SCA for cZi DBS • SCAx • Severe symptoms affecting daily functions • Failed Propranolol at 320mg/d • Failed Primidone (Mysoline) at 250mg/d. • Optional: Failed either Keppra, Sinemet, or Xyrem (if symptoms respond to alcohol) • No significant depression or dementia • Generally healthy • Realistic expectation • Good family support
Surgery and Measurements • DBS Surgery • We place DBS electrodes along the VIM to cZi area, with upper 2 electrodes in VIM and bottom 2 electrodes in cZi area. • Measurements of cZi vs VIM DBS • Fahn-Tolossa-Marin Tremor Rating Scale will be used for the quantitative comparison of the therapeutic outcomes. • UPDRS, ataxia and dystonia scales • Quality of life and mood scales.
Anatomic Location and Connection of cZi Plaha et al 2006, Brain 129: 1732-1747
Physiologic Target confirmation: Microelectrode Recording Border Sagittal Section Through the Thalamus 10sec 80ms STN 10sec 80ms Border/SN 10sec 80ms
Implantation of Unilateral DBS into the zona incerta, to be connected to a programmable IPG
Tremor Assessment • Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Questionnaire: • Scores 25 activities in terms of severity ranging from 1 to 4; high disability = 100 • 1 = able to do without difficulty • 4 = cannot do without assistance
Tremor Assessment: Global Rating Score • Patient and examiner independently rated the patient’s pre-op vs post-op status • Score ranges from -3 (markedly worse) to +3 (markedly improved) • No change (score = 0)
Tremor Global Rating Score Assessor: Patient Physician
SCA • Very debilitating neurodegenerative disease with ataxia, various tremors, dystonia and parkinsonism. • Balance and gait difficulty, dysarthria, clumsy of the hands. • No effective medications so far.
Current targets for DBS are not effective for ataxia. • Current VIM target is not very effective for intention tremor and proximal tremor, commonly seen in SCA • VIM DBS is also associated with tolerance, dysarthria, and disturbance of gait and balance, particularly in bilateral procedures