Reactions 1414 - 11 Aug 2012

Citalopram

Tourettism: case reportA man [age stated to be 58-years-old; age at onset not

clearly stated] developed tourettism during treatment withcitalopram for depression. He presented with a 4-yearhistory of abnormal neck movements and grunting. Hissymptoms started a few weeks after beginning citalopramtreatment [route and dosage not stated]. Examinationrevealed stereotypic phonic and motor tics which werecharacterised by platysma muscle contraction, an innerbuild-up of an unpleasant sensation, and vocal grunting. At3 months, his symptoms persisted, despite the withdrawalof citalopram. He was treated with pimozide but this wasunable to control his tics. Tetrabenazine improved hissymptoms.

Author comment: "We hypothesized that citalopram isthe cause for our patient’s de novo tic disorder, likelysecondary to the increase in dopamine neurotransmittercaused by the SSRI."Ferreira MA, et al. A de novo case of tourettism caused by citalopram in an adultpatient Movement Disorders 27 (Suppl. S1): abstr. 1328, Jun 2012. Availablefrom: URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mds.25051/pdf -USA 803075164

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Reactions 11 Aug 2012 No. 14140114-9954/10/1414-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved