Deanol in the management of involuntary movement disorders: A review

Deanol, because of its ability to increase CNS acetylcholine, recently has been used to treat the dyskinetic symptoms associated with tardive dyskinesia, levodopa-induced dyskinesias, Huntington's disease, and a few other uncommon dyskinesias. Although firm conclusions cannot be drawn because the majority of investigations were not conducted under double-blind placebo-controlled conditions, some trends may be inferred from the available data. Overall, 25%-50% of the patients with tardive dyskinesia or levodopa-induced dyskinesias improved while taking deanol. Results are less encouraging in Huntington's disease as only a small proportion of patients have benefited from treatment with deanol. The individual reports of the use of deanol for senile dyskinesias, blepharospasm, congenital athetosis, Tourette's syndrome, and oromandibular dystonia are interesting, but the number of cases which have been treated and which show improvement are too few to note trends.