Effects of Prochlorperazine on Normal Vestibular Ocular and Perceptual Responses: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Crossover, Placebo-Controlled Study

Abstract

Background: The present study investigated whether prochlorperazine affects vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and vestibulo-perceptual function. Methods: We studied 12 healthy naïve subjects 3 h after a single dose of oral prochlorperazine 5 mg in a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study in healthy young subjects. Two rotational tests in yaw were used: (1) a threshold task investigating perceptual motion detection and nystagmic thresholds (acceleration steps of 0.5°/s²) and (2) suprathreshold responses to velocity steps of 90°/s in which vestibulo-ocular and vestibuloperceptual time constants of decay, as well as VOR gain, were measured. Results: Prochlorperazine had no effect upon any measure of nystagmic or perceptual vestibular function compared to placebo. This lack of effects on vestibular-mediated motion perception suggests that the drug is likely to act more as an anti-emetic than as an antivertiginous agent.

Effects of Betahistine on Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex in Normal Healthy Adults: A Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…Furthermore, the limitations of the trial in this research are recognized, which included a modest dose of betahistine (24 mg), a small sample size, and the use of healthy participants. This research is comparable to those of Patel et al (2014) [ 18 ] and Gordon et al (2003) [ 19 ] in terms of the overall outcome of the study, whereby no effect of medication was found on the vestibulo-ocular reflex. Patel et al examined the impact of prochlorperazine on normal vestibular ocular and perceptual responses in a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind crossover research.…”

“…Patel et al examined the impact of prochlorperazine on normal vestibular ocular and perceptual responses in a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind crossover research. In comparison to placebo, prochlorperazine had no effect on any measure of nystagmus or perceptual vestibular function [ 18 ].…”

Variability in the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex and Vestibular Perception

“…Interestingly, this corresponds to the roughly 0.6°/s VOR variability we measured when chair velocity was below 1°/s. Another approach has been to measure nystagmic thresholds (Seemungal et al, 2004, Patel et al, 2014), the acceleration at which the first nystagmic fast phase occurred in response to slow yaw velocity ramps. These studies determined a threshold in humans of 0.5°/s/s.…”

Predictors of clinical recovery from vestibular neuritis: a prospective study

“…Acute clinical examination revealed unidirectional horizontal nystagmus with a torsional component, a positive horizontal head impulse test, unilateral caloric canal paresis, lateropulsion, and no hearing impairment or symptoms/signs of CNS disorder . Of the 24 patients who were administered prochloperazine, only three received these on the day of testing, but the drug has been shown to have no effect upon vestibulo‐reflex or vestibulo‐perceptual function . MRI brain scans were not routinely performed, but when done on hospital arrival ( n = 3), no abnormalities were detected.…”