Two cases of burning mouth syndrome treated with olanzapine

Abstract

Two case reports of patients suffering from burning mouth syndrome (BMS), a type of somatoform disorder, who were treated with olanzapine are discussed. One case was a 54-year-old female with BMS who failed to respond to milnacipran treatment. Olanzapine (2.5 mg/day) brought about dramatic improvement in the patient's symptoms, and thereafter milnacipran withdrawal further eliminated her symptoms. The second case was a 51-year-old male with BMS who failed to respond to paroxetine treatment. Olanzapine (2.5 mg/day) was added to the treatment regimen and increased to 5.0 mg/day the following week. The patient noted a reduction in symptoms and continued to live normally thereafter without experiencing severe symptoms. These findings suggest that olanzapine may be useful in the treatment of BMS.