The medicine for stuttering was first tested in humans

Stuttering, though not life threateningstate, causes quite a few problems to people who suffer from it. Some forms of stuttering can be corrected, but, as a rule, a small number of anyone does not manage to completely get rid of this ailment. However, very soon everything can change thanks to the development of scientists from the University of California at Riverside. They created and tested in humans a drug that reduces stuttering symptoms.

Creating a cure for stuttering is a real breakthrough in medicine

How to cure stuttering

It is worth noting that the new drug representsIt’s just the first, a kind of “test” sample and the effectiveness of the drug should increase in the future. The drug was called "Ecopipam" (Ecopipam) and in a series of experiments on adults proved its effectiveness by reducing the symptoms of the disease after 8 weeks of regular use. Positive results included increased fluency, faster completion of reading aloud, and shorter stuttering.

Ecopipam was well tolerated by participantsresearch, ”said Dr. Gerald Maguire, head of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of California School of Medicine at Riverside, who led the study. However, when taking the drug, there were no serious side effects, no patients stopped treatment due to side effects, and there were no signals indicating the development of concomitant disorders in patients.

The study itself was as follows: nine adult men agreed to take part in testing the drug. Three patients dropped out during the study: one dropped out on their own "due to lack of effectiveness" and two were expelled due to non-compliance with the admission rules. The remaining 5 participants started with 50 milligrams of ecopipam per day for two weeks. If they tolerated this dosage well, they received 100 milligrams of the drug per day for the remaining 6 weeks. Of the five patients evaluated, three with moderate stuttering achieved significant improvements, while the remaining rated it as “moderate”. On our page in Yandex.Zen, we often talk about such discoveries. We recommend subscribing.

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Scientists also added that ecopipam will now betested early next 2020 in a larger randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. This means that 100 people (namely, so much is required for the tests) will be divided into 2 groups. One group will be given a medicine, and the other a “dummy”. At the same time, neither doctors nor patients will know about which group which particular medicine is receiving. The new experiment will have to last 12 weeks instead of 8, and the number of patients treated will increase by almost 10 times.

If at the end of this test it is detected,Since ecopipam is a potentially safe and effective treatment for stuttering, this will be an important step towards obtaining approval for the first-ever stuttering treatment. This is very important for millions of people around the world.

Stuttering is a serious problem for millions of people around the world.

How does the medicine for stuttering work

Stuttering is a chronic neurologicaldisorder. The exact cause of this complex communicative disorder is not known, but the mechanism of development is clear. The neurotransmitter dopamine plays an important role in it, namely, its increased content in the brain. Since high levels of dopamine are associated with stuttering, many drugs are aimed specifically at lowering its level. However, such drugs, although they reduce the symptoms, cause patients with motor disorders, as well as metabolic disorders.

Ecopipam selectively blocks dopamineto its receptors. Thus, the concentration of dopamine does not “jump”, which does not affect the health of patients. And at the same time, dopamine has a much less negative effect on the central nervous system, which can reduce the manifestation of stuttering.