UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Treatment Updates for Neuromuscular Channelopathies

Jitpimolmard, N; Matthews, E; Fialho, D; (2020) Treatment Updates for Neuromuscular Channelopathies. Current Treatment Options in Neurology , 22 (10) 10.1007/s11940-020-00644-2. Green open access

[thumbnail of s11940-020-00644-2.pdf]
Preview
Text
s11940-020-00644-2.pdf - Published Version

Download (542kB) | Preview

Abstract

Purpose of review: This article aims to review the current and upcoming treatment options of primary muscle channelopathies including the non-dystrophic myotonias and periodic paralyses. / Recent findings: The efficacy of mexiletine in the treatment of myotonia is now supported by two randomised placebo-controlled trials, one of which utilised a novel aggregated n-of-1 design. This has resulted in licencing of the drug via orphan drug status. There is also good evidence that mexiletine is well tolerated and safe in this patient group without the need for intensive monitoring. A range of alternative antimyotonic treatment options include lamotrigine, carbamazepine and ranolazine exist with variable evidence base. In vitro studies have shown insight into reasons for treatment failure of some medications with certain genotypes opening the era of mutation-specific therapy such as use of flecainide. In the periodic paralyses, the ability of MRI to distinguish between reversible oedema and irreversible fatty replacement makes it an increasingly useful tool to guide and assess pharmacological treatment. Unfortunately, the striking efficacy of bumetanide in hypokalaemic periodic paralysis animal models was not replicated in a recent pilot study in humans. / Summary: The treatment of skeletal muscle channelopathies combines dietary and lifestyle advice together with pharmacological interventions. The rarity of these conditions remains a barrier for clinical studies but the example of the aggregated n-of-1 trial of mexiletine shows that innovative trial design can overcome these hurdles. Further research is required to test efficacy of drugs shown to have promising characteristics in preclinical experiments such as safinamide, riluzule and magnesium for myotonia or bumetanide for hypokalaemic periodic paralysis.

Type: Article
Title: Treatment Updates for Neuromuscular Channelopathies
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1007/s11940-020-00644-2
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11940-020-00644-2
Language: English
Additional information: Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Keywords: Myotonia congenita, Sodium channel myotonia, Paramyotonia congenita, Periodic paralysis, Andersen-Tawil syndrome, Channelopathy
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Department of Neuromuscular Diseases
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10108710
Downloads since deposit
105Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item