Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Texas Tech University School of Medicine – Permian Basin, discusses the recent Huntington’s disease treatment approval.
Newly approved deutetrabenazine (Austedo XR) extended-release tablets available for chorea associated with Huntington’s disease.
Huntington’s disease is an inherited, neurodegenerative disorder that usually begins to be symptomatic starting at around 40 years of age. Persons with Huntington’s disease suffer from chorea, cognitive decline, psychiatric disturbances, and behavioral symptoms. All symptoms progress which eventually leads to immobility, dementia, and premature death.
As Dr. Jain explains, deutetrabenazine extended-release tablets were recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They are a once-daily formulation of the previously approved deutetrabenazine (Austedo), a twice-daily formulation. Deutetrabenazine is a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor that depletes dopamine in targeted areas of the brain.
The approval of once-daily deutetrabenazine is supported by data demonstrating the extended-release formulation to be therapeutically equivalent to the twice-daily formulation.
To learn more about Huntington’s disease and other rare neurological disorders, visit checkrare.com/diseases/neurology