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Treating Tourette Syndrome Tics / Movement Disorders
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Xenazine It has a high success rate for movement disorders. It is
Xenazine (formerly called Tetrabenazine) from Cambridge
Laboratories.

Commentary Provided by Tom
Spokane WA. I'm a 43 year old male with Tourettes, OCD, and Restless
legs.
tom.deanna@...

My name is Tom. I live in Spokane WA. I'm a 43 year old male with
Tourettes, OCD, and Restless legs

My Neuro Dr. has had me on quite a few prescriptions with limited or
no
success. I started a new one on 12/18/02. It is not offered in the
U.S. My
Dr. found out about a drug (I think he said at a world conference)
that has
been around for 30 years in the U.K. It has a high success rate for
movement
disorders. It is Xenazine (formerly called Tetrabenazine) from
Cambridge
Laboratories. I started with 1/2 of a 25 mg. pill at night. After
the first
night starting it, my tics were almost gone. I could not believe it!
I had
been so sore for quite a long time from hard, slamming tics to my
shoulders,
neck and the back of my head, it felt wonderful to stop moving. It
is now
1/29/03 and I am still on my original dose with the same results.
The only
time I have any significant tics is at night when I go to bed. I
will end my
day with about 3 - 6 head shakers. Not too bad from what I was going
through
all day long. I am also on Seroquel that I am slowly taking my self
off of.
I had been on 200 mg. each night and now I am down to 75 mg. and
still doing
good. (every 5 days I reduce by 25 mg.) Another points of interest
(at least
to me), each night when I split my pill, it never divides exactly in
two. I
have always taken the smaller half and put the larger one back in the
bottle.
Also when ever anyone would touch the back of my neck, shoulders or
head, my
tics would increase like crazy. Now when I am touched there, it does
not
bring out any tics at all.

My Dr. is almost as excited as I am.
If anyone has any questions, I will try to answer as best that I
can.

I cannot put into words the relief and calm that I feel.

If you want my Dr. name, I am sure he would not mind.

Tom

On the info that came with the Xenazine it says -
"Active ingredient is Tetrabenazine, and the inactive ingredients are
starch,
lactose, talc, magnesium stearate and the colorant iron oxide yellow
(E172).
Tetrabenazine affects some chemicals in the brain and by so doing it
helps to
control jerky and irregular movements."
"Xenazine is used for treatment of diseases which cause kerky
irregular,
uncontrollable movements such as Huntington's chorea, senile chorea,
tardive
dyskinsia and hemiballisumus."
"Before taking medicine. Make sure that it is safe for you to take
Xenazine.
If you answer YES to any of the following questions, or are not sure,
tell
your doctor, nurse or pharmacist:
Have you ever had an allergic reaction to any of the ingredients on
Xenazine?
Are you taking any medicine containing reserpine?
Have you recently been treated for depression?
Are you taking any medicine containing levodopa?"

It then has a warning about being or becoming pregnant or breast
feeding.
Then - taking your medicine.
"While taking your medicine - Unwanted affects from this medicine
usually mild
in nature. The main unwanted effect is sleepiness and drowsiness,
particularly when taking high doses."

I am currently on 12.5 mg. per night and I do not have any sleepiness
or
drowsiness problems. I have only taken it at night, so I am not sure
if I
would be sleepy during my waking hours.

"Occasionally, patients have experienced a lowering of their normal
blood
pressure. Some patients have experienced digestive problems. In
rare cases,
Xenazine can cause depression or symptoms similar to those seen in
Parkinson's
disease. (Uncontrollable movements of the hands, arms, legs and
head.) If
this happens you must tell your doctor. He/she may want to take a
lower dose."

Into on How to store your medicine.

That is pretty much all the info on it that I have.

Below is the e-mail and web sites. When I do a Google search for
Xenazine, a
few different area of Cambridge Laboratories come up.

email: marketing@...

http://www.camb-labs.com/products.htm


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Treating Tourette Syndrome / Anti-aggressive properties
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Celexa / Lexapro Citalopram shows anti-aggressive properties
http://www.psychiatrymatters.md/index.asp?
sec=news_story&story_id=10237&usedate=20030129

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram may be
effective for reducing impulsive aggressive behavior, preliminary
study findings indicate.
"A large body of literature now exists indicating that disturbances
of central serotonin function have an important role in suicidal
behavior, aggression, and other personality traits that are
characterized by impulsivity," Christopher Reist and colleagues, from
the Veteran Affairs Beach Healthcare System in Long Beach,
California, USA, observe.
In an 8-week trial, the team treated 25 patients with cluster B
personality disorders or intermittent explosive disorder with 20–60
mg/day of citalopram.
Among 20 patients who completed the study, there was a significant
improvement in Overt Aggression Scale-Modified (OAS-M) aggression
scores, which were reduced from 32.82 to 4.73. Similarly, subjective
irritability scores decreased from 3.5 to 1.45, and overt
irritability scores were reduced from 3.23 to 0.91.
These improvements were evident from week two, and were maintained
throughout the study.
Improvements with citalopram were also evident on the Barratt
Impulsiveness scale and the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory.
The team notes that decreases in OAS-M measures were of similar
magnitudes in patients with and without depressive symptoms,
dismissing the suggestion that improvements were a consequence of
nonspecific antidepressant effects.
"Future studies, therefore, should compare the anti-aggressive
effects of serotonergic antidepressants with those with non-
serotonergic mechanisms," Reist et al conclude in the Journal of
Clinical Psychiatry.



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Other articles that mention Tourette Syndrome.
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Reported February 10, 2003
Childhood Injuries and Behavioral Disorders
OTTAWA, Ontario (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Children and adolescents with
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or other behavioral
problems, are more likely to suffer injuries, a new study shows in
this month's Pediatrics.
The first well-designed research to look at the issue noted more than
a 1.5-times greater incidence of injuries among children prescribed
Ritalin than those not taking the drug.
Many studies have suggested a link between injuries in childhood and
adolescence and behavioral disorders, but most have not met the
strictest standards for scientific study. These researchers conducted
the first population-based study to measure the incidence of injuries
in this group.
The research included all children age 19 and under living in British
Columbia as of December 31, 1996. Children prescribed Ritalin were
included in the behavioral disorders group. Investigators analyzed
injury data for all the children, including fractures, open wounds,
poisoning, concussion, burns, falls, postoperative complications,
motor vehicle accidents, suffocation, drowning, and adverse effects
of drugs, among others.
A comparison of the two groups of children showed those with a
Ritalin prescription were more likely to suffer these types of
injuries than those without a prescription. The finding held true
even after results were adjusted to take other factors that could
have influenced injury risk into account.
Write the authors, "Our findings suggest that targeted preventive
strategies, including parental counseling on injury risk and
specialized driving instruction, may be beneficial for this group of
children and youth."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts
by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to:
http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, 2003;111:262-269

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