Xenazine (tetrabenazine): First Drug for Chorea in Huntington's Disease, Approved by the FDA

Filed in archive FDA Approvals , Neurological Disorders , Treatment on August 15, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Vasiliy Yakobchuk

Xenazine (tetrabenazine), product of Prestwick Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Washington, D.C.) is the first drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of chorea - the jerky, involuntary movement - in people with Huntington's disease.

Xenazine decreases the amount of dopamine available to work at relevant synapses in the brain. Dopamine is a chemical that communicates between certain nerve cells in the brain. In patients with Huntington's disease, this system is overactive and results in the abnormal movements called chorea. Xenazine decreases the amount of dopamine available to interact with certain nerve cells, thereby decreasing the involuntary movements.

A rare, hereditary neurological disorder affecting about 1 in 10,000 people in the United States, Huntington's disease resulting from the degeneration of the brain cells, is characterized by uncontrolled movements, loss of intellectual faculties, and emotional disturbance.

No other drug for chorea is approved in the United States. But Xenazine has serious side effects reported including insomnia, depression, drowsiness, restlessness and nausea. But has been shown to decrease chorea, thereby improving the quality of life in Huntington's disease patients.

Read more from the FDA News.