Tradipitant improves symptoms of motion sickness

Tradipitant successfully reduced nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness in a clinical trial. Both low dose and high doses were well-tolerated.

“Tradipitant is a selective inhibitor of human cell membrane NK-1 receptor binding,” outlined Dr Vasilios Polymeropoulos (Vanda Pharmaceuticals, NY, USA)¹. This agent was assessed in participants with a history of motion sickness (n=316). The enrolled participants were randomised 1:1:1 to 170 mg tradipitant, 85 mg tradipitant, or a placebo. The primary outcome was the prevention of vomiting from motion sickness during vehicle travel, as measured by Vomiting Assessment (VA).

The vomiting incidence was 10.4% in the 170 mg arm, significantly lower than the vomiting incidence in the placebo arm (37.7%; P<0.0001). Similarly, the 85 mg arm was associated with a lower vomiting incidence than the placebo arm (18.3% vs 37.7%; P=0.0014). Furthermore, tradipitant intake resulted in a reduced incidence of severe nausea and vomiting (combined tradipitant arms 13.3% vs 33.0%; P<0.0001).

“Overall, tradipitant was effective in reducing vomiting and preventing nausea in this population, with the higher dose displaying slightly better results than the lower dose,” summarised Dr Polymeropoulos. “Given the prevalence of adverse events associated with other therapies such as dimenhydrinate and scopolamine, the well-tolerated agent tradipitant may be beneficial for many travellers.”