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news.Prestwick Pharmaceuticals' tetrabenazine may be a safe and viable treatment option for patients with hyperkinetic movement disorders who have a prior history of depression, according to research presented recently.
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Previous studies have demonstrated that tetrabenazine improves the symptoms associated with a number of hyperkinetic movement disorders, which include Huntington’s disease, other choreas and tardive dyskinesia.
Clinical study investigators believe serotonin and nonadrenaline depletion are likely mechanisms of tetrabenazine-induced depression, which has been reported to occur in approximately 15% of patients treated with the drug.
One objective of the retrospective analysis, which was presented at the 9th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in New Orleans, was to provide data on the potential relationship between pre-existing depression and subsequent use of tetrabenazine. A total of 518 medical charts were reviewed for men and women aged 3-87 years treated with tetrabenazine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Results of the retrospective analysis showed that the percentage of patients who discontinued treatment was not statistically different in patients with a prior history of depression (3.3%) and those with no prior history of depression (2.8%).
The majority of treated patients experienced marked improvement in their movement disorders. The mean duration of treatment was 29.7 months and the mean dosage was 62mg/day. During tetrabenazine treatment, 50 patients (18.4%) had an exacerbation of their depression or required a change in antidepressant (15.4%) and 28 patients (11.4%) experienced depression for the first time. A total of 16 patients (3.1%) discontinued treatment due to an adverse event of depression.
“Depression is common among people with Huntington’s Disease,” said Dr Joseph Jankovic, professor of neurology and director of the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and lead study investigator. “These new data show that a prior history of depression should not preclude patients from being treated with tetrabenazine.”
Tetrabenazine is available in some European markets and Australia as Xenazine and in Canada as Nitoman for the treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders.