Novel Drug Significantly Reduces Tics ― Without Side Effects

Novel Drug Significantly Reduces Tics in Tourette's ― Without Side Effects

Pauline Anderson

March 31, 2022

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An investigational drug that blocks the dopamine-1 (D1) receptor reduces tics and is safe and well tolerated in children with Tourette syndrome (TS), a new study shows.

Importantly, unlike current medications for the disorder, ecocipam does not lead to weight gain, anxiety, depression, or tardive dyskinesia compared to placebo ― a factor that may lead to better adherence.

Dr Donald Gilbert

For clinicians treating children with TS, the results suggest "help is on the way," study investigator Donald Gilbert, MD, professor of pediatrics and neurology, University of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told Medscape Medical News.

"There may be a drug available with a new mechanism of action that is effective to suppress tics without causing weight gain or unwanted neuropsychiatric side effects," Gilbert said.

The findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2022 Annual Meeting in April.

First-In-Class Agent

TS is a neurologic condition that causes sudden repetitive involuntary muscle movements and sounds known as tics. These movements typically develop in childhood and worsen during adolescence.

"There's a risk of injury, such as to the neck, with tics in childhood, so it's good to have something that makes tics less severe and less socially impairing in junior high," said Gilbert.

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