Nobel Prize, Jackpot Winner or just Savior?

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May 28, 2014 | 9 Comments

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  1. When I went to look up benztropine on Drugs.com, the leading US commercial website for drug information, my screen immediately filled up with MS drug ads! Nothing about Parkinson’s, and for sure nothing about treating the side effects of antipsychotic drugs. Hmm.

    All the news reports emphasize that NO ONE should try this drug to treat humans yet. After all, it can have (OMG) side effects! Including some that “mimic MS itself”, one reporter advised: drowsiness, blurred vision, dizziness, confusion, and even possibly psychosis at very high doses.

    Well, that’s nothing to take lightly. But I couldn’t help but compare it to some of the drugs given to MS patients simply to manage symptoms. That includes Provigil to combat drowsiness – a stimulant that can cause dizziness, confusion, blurred vision, depression, anxiety, hallucinations, mania and rare but occasionally fatal skin rashes. And the side effects of MS drugs thought to actually be “disease-modifying” are even more serious.

    To give some idea of how old and well-known “Cogentin” is, and how freely it was once used: at one point in the seventies my local university Student Health Center was actually giving out Haldol drops to students in non-life-threatening emotional distress. Along with the Haldol came a bottle of 30 Cogentin tablets, “in case you start drooling or have a stiff neck.” Just pop a few of these, kid.

    Granted, this was way TOO loose an attitude – and the bigger problem was the almost criminally loose attitude towards Haldol and other neuroleptic drugs. But Cogentin at least has been used and studied for sixty years. And nobody started hyperventilating about its dangers, until it became a potential rival to blockbuster biologic drugs costing thousands of dollars a month.

  2. hellow .. iam a pharmacist from egypt …and very interested in benztropine …..my wife has ms …and i use it with her for 6 months ………i found no change …may be it is good news ….because it is a progressive disease ….she is pregnant now ..and i will continue the benztropine with her after we get the baby …and we will wait and see

    • is there any new news about benztropine ?? did u continue using it for ur wife
      or have u stopped ??
      and what was the dose and the commercial name in Egypt is it congenten ??
      hope that ur wife is getting better ya abo hemeed

  3. While searching RxISK for Parkinson’s medications I came across this blog on Cogentin. Not sure if this has any relevance –

    My brother (who died by drowning in 2010) had epilepsy. I have his medical records from one of his many trips to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. He was on a number of anti-seizure medications: Tegretol, Phenobarbital, Topramex, Epanutin and also Cogentin, which I assume was used for the adverse effects of the epilepsy meds. He had, not surprisingly, all the appearances of a person suffering from Parkinson’s disease, tremors and shaking legs, among other awful effects such as suicidality and hallucinations.

    He lived till age 42, yet despite regular changes of dose, medications and even brain operations – the seizures never once stopped or reduced in number. Polypharmacy at its finest! I’m only surprised he lived that long with so many drugs in his system. Anyway, Cogentin was part of the picture.

  4. I want to preface this by saying I have not been diagnosed with MS. My brain MRI showed two foci in the pre-ventricular region, one in each hemisphere. These areas did not light up with contrast dye. They would only do the cervical spine, which did not show any spots. I was 38 years old and have been having multiple symptoms since 26.

    Less than a week ago, I had to leave work early due to a sudden onset of double blindness. I went to the ER and after a whole battery of tests, the doctor decided to give me IV Benadryl and IV Cogentin. I’d say about three hours later, I noticed when the doctor woke me up, my double vision was completely gone and has been since then. I have an appointment with a Neuro-ophthalmologist in a week.

    • Hi Sarah, How are you doing these days, were you ever diagnosed with MS or something else. Glad your vision rebounded, how is your vision these days, did any other issues pop up? I am Curious about you, my entire family has MS. I am curious about Cogentin ?

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