Most people have suffered from muscle twitches at some point in their lives. Perhaps your eye has twitched after a lack of sleep. Maybe your thumb has had a spasm after writing for a long time. Either way, these simple twitches tend to be amusing or annoying at the very most. However, if you develop a permanent muscle-spasm disorder, such as tardive dystonia, it can interfere with your daily life and hinder you from taking care of yourself and your loved ones.
Dystonia is a broad category of neuromuscular disorders that cause uncontrollable muscle twitches that lead to repetitive, twisting motions and even abnormal postures. While some types of dystonias are named for the location of your body that they affect, “tardive” dystonia is so named for the Latin word for late, tardus. Tardive dystonia tends to hit people in their later years, but there are certain things that can cause it to come sooner.
Tardive dystonia was identified in 1982 as a disorder with several associated characteristics that made it different from other dystonias. These include:
Chronic dystonia
Antipsychotic drug use prior to or at the same time as the onset of the disease
No other secondary dystonia
No family history of dystonia
The reason why antipsychotic drugs were originally suspected of causing this disorder is because some of the medications work by disrupting the dopamine receptors in the body. Dopamine is a naturally produced neurotransmitter that is used to direct muscle movement and control emotions. Thus, disrupting the dopamine channels helped some mentally ill patients take control of their emotions.
However, there are now other medications that also rely on the dopamine communication chain to edit other bodily functions. Reglan is a drug containing metoclopramide that is used for several different things, such as treating hiatal hernias, chronic acid reflux problems, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and gastroparesis. It stimulates muscle contractions throughout the stomach and digestive system so that food is passed a bit faster from the stomach into the intestines. This prevents a back splash of stomach acid from coming into the esophagus.
To do this, metoclopramide is a dopamine receptor antagonist. Thus, doctors have now realized that Reglan can cause tardive dystonia, just as antipsychotic dopamine disrupters do. Reglan is now required to carry a black box warning label, but some doctors are still prescribing the drug. Sadly, just a few days or weeks of Reglan use can cause tardive dystonia.
If you or someone you know has developed this debilitating, muscle-spasm disorder due to the use of metoclopramide drugs, such as Reglan, you should talk to an attorney about your options. For more information, check out the Reglan lawyers from Williams Kherkher today.
Posted in Health advice