Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0028738 (nystagmus)
 7,431 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Memantine is a relatively new drug specially developed for use in moderate-to-severe dementia. It is an uncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist and reduces glutamatergic excitotoxicity. Though Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the commonest cause of dementia in the world, there is no "cure" available for the same. Cholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil and rivastigmine have been shown to provide symptomatic relief in patients with AD but have no effect on disease progression or survival. Moreover, they are not helpful in more severe stages of dementia. Memantine has been shown to cause modest improvement in clinical symptoms in severe stages of AD and may retard the disease progression. Moreover, it has been shown to be useful in various forms of dementia including AD, vascular dementia and Wernicke-Korsakoff psychosis. It is also the first drug to cause complete disappearance of pendular nystagmus due to multiple sclerosis. The current review focuses on the pharmacological properties of memantine and examines the recent evidence in favor of memantine.
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PMID:Memantine: pharmacological properties and clinical uses. 1547 17

Acquired and congenital nystagmus often causes decreased visual acuity as a direct result of the inability to maintain stable foveal vision. In addition, acquired nystagmus causes a disabling subjective sensation of movement of the visual world called oscillopsia. The eye movements themselves do not require treatment if the patient is asymptomatic. However, therapy is necessary if visual disability is present. Treatments based in pharmacologic mechanisms are preferred. There are few controlled treatment trials and therapeutic efficacy generally is sought in a trial and error approach, depending on the type of nystagmus present. Treatment with 3,4-diaminopyridine and 4-aminopyridine recently have been shown to be effective for downbeat nystagmus. Gabapentin, baclofen, and clonazepam also are useful in some patients with downbeat nystagmus. Baclofen is the therapy of choice for periodic alternating nystagmus. Gabapentin often is effective for acquired pendular nystagmus. Clonazepam and valproate also may be effective for acquired pendular nystagmus. Memantine now is available in the United States and is promising in the treatment of pendular nystagmus. Optical devices that negate the negative effects of nystagmus continue to undergo development research. These and other medical, surgical, and optical devices are potentially useful alone or in combination with other therapies.
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PMID:Current Treatment of Nystagmus. 1561 Jul 9

Advances made in understanding the pathophysiology of eye movement disorders have only recently with the publication of the first well-planned studies been translated into better treatment strategies. The following chapter summarizes the pharmacological treatment options for a variety of oculomotor syndromes. Cortisone is useful, for example, for acute vestibular neuritis to improve the restitution of the labyrinthine function. For the widespread benign paroxysmal positioning nystagmus, a series of liberating movements that free the semicircular canal from the causative otoconia is now a well-established therapy. Treatment for the central vestibular syndrome of up- and downbeat nystagmus consists of drugs like the potassium canal blocker 4-aminopyridine, which influence the cerebellar circuits involved in the disorder's pathophysiology. Acquired pendular nystagmus, one of the oculomotor syndromes often caused by multiple sclerosis, results in the severe impairment of reduced visual acuity. Memantine, a weak NMDA antagonist, has now been proven effective here. Finally, anticonvulsants like carbamazepine are the drugs of choice for disorders involving a nerve-blood vessel contact that induces symptoms of vestibular paroxysmia or superior oblique myokymia.
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PMID:Therapeutic considerations for eye movement disorders. 1731 84