Suppression of Unilateral Noise-Induced Tinnitus in Rats after Cyclobenzaprine Treatment

URL:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25526855

Title:
Partial to Complete Suppression of Unilateral Noise-Induced Tinnitus in Rats after Cyclobenzaprine Treatment.
J Assoc Res Otolaryngol. 2014 Dec 20.Lobarinas E1, Blair C, Spankovich C, Le Prell C.

Abstract:
Some forms of tinnitus are believed to arise from abnormal central nervous system activity following a single or repeated noise exposure, for which there are no widely accepted pharmacological treatments. One central site that could be related to tinnitus awareness or modulation is the locus coeruleus, a brainstem structure associated with stress, arousal, and attention. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of cyclobenzaprine, a drug known to act on the rat locus coeruleus, on noise-induced tinnitus using Gap Prepulse Inhibition of the Acoustic Startle (GPIAS). In untreated rats, brief silent gaps presented prior to a 5-10-kHz bandpass startling stimulus produced robust GPIAS. Treatment with cyclobenzaprine alone had no effect on the ability of gaps to suppress the startle response. When animals were exposed to intense narrow-band (126 dB SPL, 16 kHz, 100 Hz BW) unilateral noise, GPIAS was significantly reduced, suggesting the presence of tinnitus. Following the noise exposure, a subset of rats that maintained a robust startle response continued to show GPIAS impairment at 6-20 kHz, 40 days post-noise, suggesting chronic tinnitus. When this subset of animals was treated with cyclobenzaprine, at a dose that had no significant effects on the startle response (0.5 mg/kg), GPIAS recovered partially or to near baseline levels at the affected frequencies. These results were consistent with the absence of tinnitus. By 48 h post-treatment, evidence of tinnitus re-emerged. Our results suggest that cyclobenzaprine was effective in transiently suppressing noise-induced tinnitus in rats.

 

Cool that they can basically detect it and are now testing a variety of drugs. Maybe one can handle this issue permanently, or can be utilized when needed like a benzo.

 

I hate the idea of taking a drug daily or every other day, but if it can make this shit stop...I'm all for it.

 

Same here

 

Well cyclobenzaprine is a muscle relaxant, you can find more info here : http://www.drugs.com/cyclobenzaprine.html

I guess if you do a lot of sports, like me, using a muscle relaxant is not that good. If it could work for a few hours only when you really need it, could be good. I guess this drug would be much easier to get than retigabine... but from wikipedia : long term use of cyclobenzaprine is not recommended...

 

Every now and then, a new paper comes up, a test in animals shows improvements in Tinnitus by using some known drug that originally has other function. Should it be fascinating? If it included humans, perhaps... It is a lot easier to experiment with rats. But experimentation, although we all welcome it, should give results ultimately. Especially if it is as successful as it is presented in these papers.

Have any of all these researches given any real results? Sadly, no. A real breakthrough remains to be seen. Until then, no news for me here.

 

I'd be very pleased if a drug offered some relief that could be safely used on a daily basis. Until Restasis drops for eyes became an option, I had no real long-term options for inflammation of my eyelids other than using steroid drops when they flared up, which cannot be used long-term. Restasis though has been safe for my eyes and essentially caused my chronic inflammation of the eyelids to go into remission. I imagine some kind of therapy like this for tinnitus would be a great thing.

 

I have a bottle of this that I use very sparingly for back pain. It can be a real life saver when it hurts too much to walk. I can't say that I ever noticed an improvement in my tinnitus but I also take small dosages. If I take too much I'll pass out for a few hours. It does create a pleasant relaxed feeling which I suppose might reduce the negative reaction with T.

 

I am more in favour of corrective treatment rather than suppressive treatment. My uncle was just diagnosed with kidney cancer (likely due to his daily use of pain killer for chronic back pain).

We live in an era of medicine where new ground is being broken on a weekly basis. Spinal injuries, blindness, deafness, burns...and many other injuries and diseases are now closer to being treated, and in some cases cured for the first time in history. I remain very hopeful for the future. Regenerative medicine is going to revolutionize how healthcare is provided.

 

I tried cyclobenzaprine a while ago for my tinnitus, and just like Venture, it did not have any effect, only eliminated lower back pain I had

 

The future... Could happen. Let's hope it is soon, because in 40 years or so, I will not need that to cover my shitty Tinnitus. It will have gone away by itself. In fact, I won't be hearing a think!

 

Flexiban/Flexeril has been tested on humans (I myself have tried without success) with modest success rates. It works for some sub types of tinnitus often related to musculoskeletal problems and tmj. It is a drug derivated by tricyclic ads and a cousin of Tegretol/Equetro (anti seizure, neurophatic nerve pain, trigeminal nevralgia)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22541838

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22302057