Isoniazid for tremor in multiple sclerosis: a controlled trial.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Tremor is a common and often disabling symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS).
• Current treatments for MS-related tremor have limitations and variable efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of isoniazid in reducing tremor severity in patients with MS.
• To assess the safety and tolerability of isoniazid treatment for MS tremor.

Main Methods:

• A clinical trial involving 13 patients diagnosed with MS and experiencing tremor.
• Patients received isoniazid 1,000 mg daily for one month.
• Tremor was evaluated before treatment, at one month, and one month post-treatment using three assessment methods.

Main Results:

• Ten out of thirteen patients (77%) showed improvement in tremor on at least one evaluation method.
• Transient side effects were frequently observed, potentially linked to a high prevalence of slow acetylators.
• Five patients required a 50% dosage reduction due to side effects.

Conclusions:

• Isoniazid demonstrated a mild beneficial effect on tremor in a majority of MS patients studied.
• The observed tremor improvement did not translate into significant functional gains for patients.
• Side effects and potential metabolic variations (slow acetylators) warrant careful consideration in isoniazid dosing for MS tremor.