Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Parkinson's Disease: Treatment

Parkinson's Disease: Treatment

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's Disease (PD), involve the gradual and irreversible destruction of neurons in particular brain areas. These disorders exhibit standard features like proteinopathies, selective vulnerability of some neurons, and an interaction of intrinsic properties, genetics, and environmental influences in neural injury.
Parkinson's Disease is primarily a result of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The cornerstone of its...

Upper Respiratory Drugs: Antitussives, Expectorants, and Mucolytics

Upper Respiratory Drugs: Antitussives, Expectorants, and Mucolytics

Respiratory symptoms, such as congestion and cough, commonly accompany respiratory tract conditions. Various medications, such as antitussives, expectorants, and mucolytics, play crucial roles in providing relief.
Antitussives include codeine, dextromethorphan (Robitussin), and benzonatate (Tessalon). Codeine and dextromethorphan exert their effects centrally by suppressing the cough reflex center in the medulla. Benzonatate operates peripherally within the respiratory tract by anesthetizing...

Antidepressant Drugs: MAOIs and Other Agents

Antidepressant Drugs: MAOIs and Other Agents

Atypical antidepressants, including bupropion (Wellbutrin), mirtazapine (Remeron), nefazodone (Serzone), trazodone (Desyrel), and vilazodone (Viibryd), offer unique mechanisms of action. Bupropion weakly inhibits dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake, aiding depression treatment and smoking cessation, with a low risk of sexual dysfunction. Mirtazapine enhances serotonin and norepinephrine neurotransmission, leading to sedation, increased appetite, and weight gain. As a result, it helps treat...

Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents

Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents

Sedatives and hypnotics encompass a wide range of substances, each with its unique mechanism of action, uses, and potential adverse effects.
Melatonin congeners like ramelteon (Rozerem) and tasimelteon (Hetlioz) selectively bind to melatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2) and thus mimic the actions of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Tasimelteon is primarily used for non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, common in blind patients. They are also used to treat conditions like insomnia...

Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Dopamine Receptor Antagonists

Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: Dopamine Receptor Antagonists

Dopamine receptor antagonists, also known as antipsychotic agents, are critical in managing chemotherapy-induced vomiting. These antiemetic agents block dopamine receptors in the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ), inhibiting signal transmission to the vomiting center. Antipsychotic agents encompass phenothiazines (PTZ), butyrophenones, benzamides, and thienobenzodiazepines (Zyprexa), which are utilized for their antiemetic and sedative properties.
Phenothiazines, such as prochlorperazine...

Drugs for Treatment of Diarrhea-Predominant IBS

Drugs for Treatment of Diarrhea-Predominant IBS

Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) is a subtype of IBS characterized primarily by frequent, loose, or watery stools, abdominal pain, and abdominal discomfort. Therapeutic approaches to managing IBS-D include dietary changes, stress management techniques, and pharmaceutical interventions.
Two specific drugs used in the treatment are alosetron (Lotronex) and eluxadoline (Viberzi). Alosetron, a 5-HT3 antagonist, works by slowing the movement of stools in the gut, reducing bowel...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Disease outcomes with ublituximab in treatment-naïve participants: subpopulation analyses of the phase 3 ULTIMATE I and II studies in participants with relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Frontiers in immunology·2026

Same author

Racial and Ethnic Representation in Dementia Clinical Trials Registered on ClinicalTrials.gov in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

International journal of geriatric psychiatry·2026

Same author

Alzheimer's Disease blood biomarkers measured through remote capillary sampling correlate with cognition in older adults.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Diffusion network model analysis of multimodal neuroimaging reveals differential patterns of brain disease propagation in four subgroups of ALS patients.

Brain imaging and behavior·2026

Same author

RAC1 regulates Sonic Hedgehog-medulloblastoma growth via GLI-mediated transcription.

Neuro-oncology·2026

Same author

Synuclein Disorder-Related Genetic Determinants of Mild Behavioural Impairment in a Pre-Clinical Community Cohort.

International journal of geriatric psychiatry·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Dextromethorphan plus ultra low-dose quinidine reduces pseudobulbar affect.

Erik P Pioro¹, Benjamin Rix Brooks, Jeffrey Cummings

¹Section of ALS and Related Disorders, Department of Neurology, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. PIOROE@ccf.org

Annals of Neurology

|September 15, 2010

Summary

Dextromethorphan combined with quinidine (DMq) significantly reduced pseudobulbar affect (PBA) episodes in ALS and MS patients. This treatment demonstrated safety and improved patients' quality of life.

Related Experiment Videos

Area of Science:

Neurology
Pharmacology

Background:

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is characterized by involuntary emotional outbursts, significantly impacting patients with neurological conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Current treatments for PBA have limitations, necessitating the exploration of novel therapeutic options.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of dextromethorphan combined with ultra-low-dose quinidine (DMq) for treating PBA in patients with ALS or MS.

Main Methods:

A 12-week, randomized, double-blind trial involving 326 patients with ALS or MS and clinically significant PBA.
Patients received either placebo, DMq at 30/10mg (DMq-30), or DMq at 20/10mg (DMq-20) twice daily.
The primary analysis used longitudinal negative binomial regression to assess the PBA-episode daily rate.

Main Results:

DMq significantly reduced the PBA-episode daily rate by 46.9% for DMq-30 and 49.0% for DMq-20 compared to placebo (p < 0.0001).
Mean Center for Neurologic Studies-Lability Scale (CNS-LS) scores decreased significantly more with DMq (8.2 points) than placebo (5.7 points).
Statistically significant improvements were observed in PBA remission rates and, for the higher DMq dose, social functioning and mental health measures.

Conclusions:

DMq effectively reduced PBA frequency and severity in patients with ALS and MS.
The treatment demonstrated a satisfactory safety profile and high tolerability.
DMq represents a promising therapeutic option for managing the socially debilitating symptoms of PBA.