Title:Sodium Valproate Induced Tremor in a Patient with Epilepsy and Down's Syndrome
Volume: 8
Issue: 1
Author(s): Antonio Siniscalchi, Luca Gallelli, Simona Loizzo, Avenoso Tiziana, Emilio Russo and Giovambattista De Sarro
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Down syndrome patients, epilepsy, anticonvulsant, sodium valproate, tremor.
Abstract: Some papers reported the development of adverse drug reactions in patients with Down’s syndrome during the
treatment with antiepileptic drugs. However, at this time, no data have been published concerning the development of
tremor in patients with Down’s syndrome treated with sodium valproate.
We report a 17-year-old man with epilepsy and Down’s syndrome who experienced tremor during the treatment with a
low dosage of sodium valproate. The Naranjo probability scale documented a possible association between tremor and
sodium valproate. Sodium valproate was changed to lamotrigine with both a rapid improvement of tremor and an optimal
control of symptoms.
In conclusion we documented that sodium valproate is able to induce in a patient with epilepsy and Down‘s syndrome, the
development of tremor probably through the decreased activity of GABAergic neurotrasmission; however, further studies
may be performed in order to validate this observation.
