Citicoline in the treatment of essential tremor

ABSTRACT

To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Citicoline for the treatment of patients affected by essential tremor. The study was conducted in the Neurology Department at King Hussein Medical Centre. A total of 18 subjects were non-randomly selected and enrolled in the study [8 males, 10 females], with a mean age of 62.6 years. The primary outcome measure was the degree of tremor compared to baseline as measured by the Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor. The mean duration of symptoms among the study group was 6 years. All patients were evaluated at least twice, at enrollment and 8 weeks after starting treatment. The dose was 2ml twice daily [equivalent to 400mg /daily] taken orally. Seven subjects showed marked improvement on Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor. Seven subjects showed moderate improvements, and 2 subjects showed mild improvement, and two subjects showed no change. The overall improvement in all treated subjects was 89% [T-Value = 8.42, P-Value = 0.000]. The main side effects encountered during the treatment period were gastrointestinal symptoms in two subjects [11%], anxiety in one subject [6%], headache in one subject [6%], dizziness in one subject [6%], and insomnia in another [6%]. Citicoline significantly improved essential tremor in this small group of subjects: