Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 Oct;26(12):2226-31.
doi: 10.1002/mds.23828. Epub 2011 Jun 14.

Drug-induced parkinsonism: a review of 17 years' experience in a regional pharmacovigilance center in France

Affiliations
Review

Drug-induced parkinsonism: a review of 17 years' experience in a regional pharmacovigilance center in France

Emmanuelle Bondon-Guitton et al. Mov Disord. 2011 Oct.

Abstract

Besides antipsychotics, several drugs can induce parkinsonism. We review spontaneous notifications of drug-induced or -worsened parkinsonism to a French regional pharmacovigilance center between 1993 and 2009. During these 17 years, 20,855 adverse drug reactions have been reported, including 155 (0.7%) cases of drug-induced or -worsened parkinsonism. Most of the notifications have involved aged patients (48% between 60 and 79 years) and females (60%). "Seriousness" was found in 43.9% of cases. Worsening of parkinsonism occurred in 28 patients suffering from idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Sixty-nine percent of drug-induced or -worsened parkinsonism cases were observed during the first 3 months after introduction of the "suspect" drug (involving mainly central dopaminergic antagonists). A second peak (20%) was found 12 months after drug introduction (mainly caused by calcium channel blockers). The most frequently reported parkinsonian symptom was rigidity (78.7%). The three cardinal symptoms were found in 37.4% of notifications. Evolution was favorable (after partial or complete withdrawal of suspect drug[s]) in 88.7% of cases. Among the 261 suspect drugs, most involved central dopaminergic antagonists (49%), followed by antidepressants (8%), calcium channel blockers (5%), peripheral dopaminergic antagonists (5%), and H1 antihistamines (5%). Cases with lithium, valproic acid, amiodarone, anticholinesterases, or trimetazidine were also found. Three notifications were the result of pharmacokinetic interactions. We found that drug-induced or -worsened parkinsonism is an often "serious," but reversible, adverse drug reaction. It occurred more frequently between 60 and 79 years. Rigidity was the most frequently reported symptom. Approximately 50% of drug-induced or -worsened parkinsonism cases spontaneously reported were related to drugs other than antipsychotics. Drug-induced or -worsened parkinsonism can also be explained by pharmacokinetic drug interactions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

Substances

LinkOut - more resources