Drug treatment for myotonia
Updated review explores treatments for myotonia—a disabling muscle stiffness in genetic disorders—highlighting key therapies.
Abnormal delayed relaxation of skeletal muscles, known as myotonia, can cause disability in myotonic disorders. The main myotonic disorders are non‐dystrophic myotonia and myotonic dystrophy. Non‐dystrophic myotonia is a genetic muscle channelopathy predominantly causing myotonia. Myotonic dystrophic is a more systemic neuromuscular disorder causing myotonia as well as progressive myopathy and systemic manifestations, such as arrhythmias and cataracts. Myotonia manifests as stiffness, cramps, locking, pain, and fatigue, and can cause marked morbidity and disability. Sodium channel blockers, tricyclic antidepressive drugs, benzodiazepines, calcium antagonists, taurine, and prednisone may reduce myotonia. This is an update of a review first published in 2005 and updated in 2006.
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