This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Mario Manto, MD; Jerzy Hildebrand, MD
Belgian National Research Foundation Free University of Brussels Hôpital Erasme Department of Neurology 808 Route de Lennik 070 Brussels, Belgium

Emile Godaux, MD
Mons, Belgium

Hervé Roland, MD; Serge Blum, MD; Jean Jacquy, MD
Charleroi, Belgium

Arch Neurol. 1997;54(10):1192-1194.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

A deficiency in serotonin has been proposed as a neurochemical mechanism underlying ataxia in degenerative cerebellar diseases. We evaluate by clinical and objective measurements the effectiveness of the levorotatory form of 5-hydroxytryptophan, a serotonin precursor, in treating patients with cortical cerebellar atrophy (CCA) (sporadic adult-onset ataxia). This is an open-label study in which 6 patients with CCA received the levorotatory form of 5-hydroxytryptophan for 6 months. Patients with Friedreich ataxia, spinocerebellar ataxia, or multiple system atrophy were not included. The setting was a research hospital. The main outcome measures were clinical assessment and neurophysiological study of fast single-joint and multijoint movements. For rapid single-joint movements (wrist flexions), we analyzed movement amplitudes and onset latencies of antagonist electromyographic (EMG) activity (extensor carpi radialis with respect to flexor carpi radialis). For fast multijoint movements (pointing movements in upper limb), we evaluated the decomposition index to assess the synchrony between elbow and shoulder. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?