EFFECT OF NICARDIPINE ON ESSENTIAL TREMOR - BRIEF REPORT

The effects of nicardipine, a calcium channel blocker (CCB), were inve stigated in 11 patients with essential tremor (ET). In a placebo contr olled study, a single oral dose of 30 mg of nicardipine was administer ed, followed by 1 month of sustained treatment (60 mg/day). Tremor was assessed by accelerometric recording. A single oral dose of nicardipi ne reduced the tremor amplitude respect baseline (p = 0.003) and place bo (p = 0.008). After 1 month of chronic treatment, nicardipine still reduced the tremor amplitude (30.78% +/- 17.13 SE from baseline), but failed to sustain the initial statistical improvement. A single oral d ose of nicardipine is effective in reducin ET.