Mexiletine ineffective in cold-related paralysis in bulbospinal amyotrophy

Japanese clinicians have investigated cold-related paralysis in bulbospinal muscular atrophy (BSM). They showed that :

• they were frequent (88%) in an observational study of 51 patients with SBMA and 18 without the disease,
• mexiletine does not significantly reduce their frequency, results of the MEXPRESS crossover trial which involved 20 participants on mexiletine or placeboLe placebo est un produit dont la présentation est identique à celle d’un médicament, mais qui ne contient pas de principe actif. Dans un essai clinique, un placebo est utilisé pour mesurer l’action réelle du médicament testé, en comparant les effets du médicament testé contenant le principe actif et ceux du placebo., taken three times a day for 4 weeks,
• however, mexiletine improved tongue pressure and scores on the 10-second grip test or the release test.

Mexiletine in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy: a randomized controlled trial. Yamada S, Hashizume A, Hijikata Y et al. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2022 Nov;9(11):1702-1714.