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First Medication for Huntington's Chorea Approved

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
JC Jones MA RN
Huntington's disease is a fatal, inherited neurodegenerative disorder marked by disabling chorea. Chorea is a symptom of the disease, manifesting in spasmodic, uncontrollable movements that become disabling. The FDA has now approved the medication tetrabenazine for treatment of chorea offering hope to thousands. Tetrabenazine calms the jerky, uncontrollable movements of the body by its action on amines in the brain. Ninety percent of people with Huntington's disease suffer with chorea, so improvement in their symptoms offers dramatic improvement in their quality of life.

Tetrabenazine does not slow progression of the disease, which affects most people in middle age. Prestwick Pharmaceutical, Inc., a privately held company in Washington D.C., owns the rights to develop and sell tetrabenazine in the US. The company specializes in medications treating chronic CNS disorders. Tetrabenazine has been used in Europe for thirty years.

Xenazine®

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2 Comments:

  • At Tue Aug 26, 07:26:00 AM 2008, Blogger sandra_sanderson2000 said…

    I wonder if this new drug may perhaps work for my brother who has parkenson disease??Is it worth mentioning to his doctor?I stated for jerky and involuntary movements so I just wondered.What do yu think?

     

  • At Tue Sep 02, 12:45:00 PM 2008, Anonymous JC Jones said…

    Prestwick Pharmaceuticals specializes in R&D of medications for CNS (central nervous system) problems. Lisuride is the medication now being tested for use in Parkinson's Disease. While not yet approved, here ia a link to the Clinical Trials: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?intr=%22Lisuride%22

    Best of luck! JC

     

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