Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder that can be disabling. Those who suffer from the condition experience muscle contractions that cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The causes are not completely known or understood, but it is believed to be either inherited or caused by factors such as birth-related or physical trauma, infection, poisoning (such as lead poisoning), or reaction to drugs (such as Reglan, also known as metoclopramide, a common medication to treat heartburn, GERD and gastroparesis). For one athletic young woman, the cause was likely due to a seasonal flu shot.

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Elizabeth Conte was prescribed Reglan, a brand-name of metoclopramide used to treat gastrointestinal conditions such as heartburn, GERD and gastroparesis. For four years she took the medication, unaware that she was slowly developing a debilitating and incurable movement disorder known as Tardive Dyskinesia. What she soon found out is that her involuntary head jerks and facial twitches were caused by long-term use of metoclopramide.

More and more cases of consumers taking metoclopramide and subsequently developing Tardive Dyskinesia were reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and by early 2009, the agency had ordered a black box warning be placed on the medication. New warnings and precautions were written into the drug’s packaging that included an up to 20 percent risk of patients developing Tardive Dyskinesia during long-term use of the medication.

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Taking popular medications to treat symptoms of heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) may actually make those symptoms worse, according to a recent study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute. Those medications – called proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and known by the brand names Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid, and Aciphex – have even been linked to other serious complications such as dizziness, osteoporosis, pneumonia and heart attacks, according to Natural News.

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An abnormal wiring in the brain may counteract genetic mutations for dystonia, and may lead to new treatment and prevention options for patients with movement disorders, according to the Journal of Neuroscience.

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Patients who suffer from nausea and vomiting are often given medication to stop their symptoms. But many of those drugs carry serious side effects that have earned them black box warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A black box warning indicates that use of the drug carries a significant risk of serious or life-threatening adverse effects.

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Metoclopramide, known in the U.S. by the brand names Reglan and Metozolv, is a commonly prescribed medication used in the treatment of serious gastrointestional disorders, such as GERD and gastroparesis. Earlier this year, a study suggested that the medication may also help women suffering from morning sickness, in particular a severe form marked by serious vomiting called hyperemesis gravidarum. The study, which involved more than 80,000 births to Israeli women, found that women who took the medication while pregnant did not raise the risk of harming their unborn child.

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There is no known cure for Tardive Dyskinesia, a serious movement disorder linked to some psychiatric drugs and metoclopramide, a medication used to treat heartburn, GERD, and other gastrointestinal disorders. The condition, identified by involuntary movements such as jerks, eye blinking, and muscle contractions of the face and limbs, usually develops after long-term use of the medications. Symptoms often persist even after the medication has been stopped. Use of the drugs that cause Tardive Dyskinesia also can mask symptoms, which can mean symptoms become more pronounced after the medication stops.

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