Treatment of camptocormia with continuous subcutaneous infusions of apomorphine: 1-year prospective pilot study

J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2015 Jun;122(6):835-9. doi: 10.1007/s00702-014-1297-9. Epub 2014 Aug 19.

Abstract

Camptocormia is defined as a marked dystonic flexion of the trunk in the sagittal plane. Camptocormia responds poorly to botulinum toxin injections, manipulation with dopaminergic treatment, and deep brain stimulation. We designed a prospective pilot study to assess the effect of apomorphine infusions on camptocormia. Five patients were enrolled. All five patients responded well to this treatment. The fact that camptocormia responds so well to apomorphine may be explained by the sustained stimulation of the ventrolateral striatal D1 receptors, alleviating this type of dystonia.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Apomorphine / administration & dosage*
  • Dopamine Agonists / administration & dosage*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Injections, Subcutaneous
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Muscular Atrophy, Spinal / drug therapy*
  • Muscular Atrophy, Spinal / physiopathology
  • Parkinson Disease / drug therapy
  • Parkinson Disease / physiopathology
  • Pilot Projects
  • Prospective Studies
  • Spinal Curvatures / drug therapy*
  • Spinal Curvatures / physiopathology
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Dopamine Agonists
  • Apomorphine

Supplementary concepts

  • Camptocormia