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The effect of the catecholamine precursor L ‐Dopa on sleep bruxism: A controlled clinical trial
Author(s) -
Lobbezoo F.,
Lavigne G. J.,
Tanguay R.,
Montplaisir J. Y.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
movement disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.352
H-Index - 198
eISSN - 1531-8257
pISSN - 0885-3185
DOI - 10.1002/mds.870120113
Subject(s) - benserazide , placebo , medicine , crossover study , anesthesia , polysomnography , sleep (system call) , bedtime , habituation , dopaminergic , levodopa , sleep stages , parkinson's disease , sleep bruxism , electromyography , psychology , dopamine , audiology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , alternative medicine , apnea , disease , pathology , computer science , operating system
The putative role of the dopaminergic system in sleep bruxism (SB) was studied in a double‐blind clinical trial by using low doses of short‐term L ‐dopa in combination with benserazide. We recorded 10 patients with SB in our sleep laboratory for 3 consecutive nights. The first night was for habituation to the laboratory environment. During the second and the third nights, the patients received two doses of either L ‐dopa or a placebo in a crossover fashion: the first dose 1 h before bedtime and the second, 4 h after the first one. The order of administration was reversed in half the patients. The efficacy of L ‐dopa was analyzed by using multilevel models. L ‐Dopa resulted in a significant decrease in the average number of bruxism episodes per hour of sleep, as well as in a significant reduction in the average value of the root‐mean‐square (RMS) electromyography (EMG) level per bruxism burst. This indicates that L ‐dopa exerts an attenuating effect on SB. In addition, L ‐dopa caused a reduction in the variance in RMS values, which suggests that L ‐dopa normalizes the EMG activity patterns associated with SB.