Reactions 1473, p33 - 12 Oct 2013

SRiluzole

Global amnesia: case reportA 53-year-old woman developed global amnesia after

receiving riluzole for major depressive disorder.The woman completed a double-blind clinical trial and

entered an open-label follow-up phase. She received riluzole50mg pills twice daily and sertraline. She developedintermittent and moderate nausea and vomiting within10 minutes of ingesting riluzole.

The woman’s riluzole was discontinued without taperingafter 8 weeks of open-label treatment, approximately 2 weeksafter onset of the side effects. Three days after stoppingriluzole, she set out for a short walk but ended up losing herway and travelling 7 miles. She was found in a fugue state andcould not remember her location, address, or name. She wasadmitted to hospital with a diagnosis of global amnesia. Bloodtests revealed the following: ALT 72 U/L, AST 69 U/L, troponin I0.15 ng/mL, creatine phosphokinase 632 U/L, serum creatinine1.53 mg/dL, glomerular filtration rate 32 mL/min, and serumcalcium 10.4 mg/dL. She reported occasional fibromyalgia-related pain. Her memory started to recover after 4 days, andhad fully recovered by day 6. She was discharged in goodcondition while receiving sertraline; her discharge diagnosisincluded mild rhabdomyolysis. At last follow-up, she remainedon sertraline monotherapy, and had no recollection of eventsbetween leaving her house to go for a walk on the day of heradmission and the time she recovered her memory in hospital.

Author comment: "We report a case of global amnesiarelated to as-directed use of riluzole".Cardoos A, et al. Delayed amnesic syndrome after riluzole use in major depressivedisorder: A case report. Psychosomatics 54: 488-492, No. 5, Sep-Oct 2013.Available from: URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psym.2013.02.002 -USA 803094101

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Reactions 12 Oct 2013 No. 14730114-9954/13/1473-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2013 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved