Parkinson’s Syndrome

Shapera, Pittsburgh Medical Bulletin (1940),338 reported on the treatment with PHT of twenty-two patients with Parkinson’s syndrome. These patients had received other medication with little or no beneficial effect. With PHT improvement in involuntary movements was observed. The author noted that there was a psychic improvement in some of these patients and that this alone made PHT therapy worthwhile.

338. Shapera, W., Dilantin therapy in certain nervous disorders. Pittsburgh Med. Bull., 29:732-736, 1940.

Kabat, Annals of Internal Medicine (1959),184 reported the therapeutic effectiveness of PHT in seven cases of Parkinson’s syndrome.

Three of these patients, who had been taking the maximal tolerable dose of anti-Parkinson drugs, still showed rigidity, tremor and poor isotonic function. With the addition of PHT isotonic and isometric function improved. Rigidity disappeared in one case and was reduced in the other two cases. Improvement in ambulation and in use of the upper extremities was also noted on addition of PHT.

The other four patients, who had not previously taken any anti-Parkinson drugs, were treated with PHT alone. In each case, prompt improvement in isotonic contraction of the muscles resulted. Rigidity disappeared in one case and was significantly reduced in the others. Tremor was moderately improved. Voluntary motion of the affected extremities was improved significantly in all cases.

184. Kabat, H., Drug therapy of cerebellar ataxia and disorders of the basal ganglia, based on cerebellar-striatal antagonism. Ann. Intern. Med., 50: 14381448, 1959.

Domzal, Neurologia i Neurochirurgia Polska (1972),971 reported on the use of PHT in treating fourteen patients with Parkinson’s syndrome. Eight of these patients had received synthetic anticholinergic drugs, and six had not received any previous anti-Parkinsonism medication. With PHT, 300-400 mg/day, over a two-week period, eleven patients reported marked improvement in sense of well-being; ten reported improvement in muscle tone; and six exhibited improvement in general tremor, which disappeared entirely in three. Steadier mobility, better expression and improved gait were observed in three patients.

971. Domzal, T., Effect of diphenylhydantoin on clinical manifestations and execretion of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in Parkinson's disease, Neurol. Neurochir. Pol., 6:357-360, 1972.

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