Method for reducing emotional lability
US5206248A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 27, 1992 |
| Grant date | Apr 27, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 27, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61K31/49
- WIPO fieldPharmaceuticals
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
This invention discloses that certain types of non-addictive opioid drugs such as dextromethorphan (which is widely used in cough syrups) provide a highly effective means of treating the feelings and symptoms of emotional lability in at least some patients suffering from neurologic impairment, without sedating, tranquilizing, or otherwise significantly interfering with consciousness or alertness in the patient. In several patients tested to date who were suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), dextromethorphan, administered orally, was remarkably effective and became quite obvious to the patients even though it was being tested for an entirely different purpose. Its effectiveness is enhanced by co-administration of a second drug such as quinidine which reduces the degradation of dextromethorphan by oxidative enzymes and which therefore increases dextromethorphan concentrations in the blood.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.