Drug Topics - October 13, 2008 - (Page 21)

www.drugtopics.com Oct. 13, 2008 DRUG TOPICS Rx Care FDA approves Xenazine for treatment of chorea in Huntington’s disease Lisa B. Samalonis 21 A new drug from Prestwick Pharmaceuticals, Inc., will soon offer patients with Huntington’s disease the first treatment option to target a symptom of the disease. In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Xenazine (tetrabenazine), for the treatment of chorea, the jerky, involuntary movement that occurs in people with Huntington’s disease. The drug is expected to be available by the end of the year. “Within a few months, for the first time, physicians will be able to offer these criticallyill patients a safe and effective medication to treat their chorea,” says Fred Marshall, MD, chief of the geriatric neurology unit at the University of Rochester. Huntington’s disease is an inherited neurological disorder affecting about one in 10,000 people in the United States. Today, about 30,000 Americans have Huntington’s disease. The disease results from a genetically programmed degeneration of brain cells that causes uncontrolled movements, loss of intellectual faculties and emotional disturbance. Symptoms develop between ages 30 and 50. The disease progresses slowly, and a person may live for another 15 to 20 years after the onset of symptoms. Xenazine is a selective and reversible, centrally acting, dopamine-depleting drug. According to Prestwick, it works by inhibiting a molecule known as VMAT2 (vesicular monoamine transporter 2). Dopamine is a chemical that communicates between certain nerve cells in the brain. In patients with Hun- the United States for seven years. Xenazine’s FDA approval was based on results from a randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled multi-center clini- tington’s disease, this system is overactive and results in the abnormal movements called chorea. By decreasing the amount of dopamine available to interact with these nerve cells, Xenazine also decreases the involuntary movements. Xenazine has been designated an orphan drug by the FDA and will have market exclusivity in “Physicians will be able to offer these criticallyill patients a safe and effective medication to treat their chorea.” Fred Marshall, MD, chief of the geriatric neurology unity at the University of Rochester cal trial. Patients treated with Xenazine had a significant im- TIPS TO REMEMBER Xenazine Dosing should be individualized and carefully titrated, and it should not exceed 50 mg per day. Common side effects include insomnia, depression, drowsiness, restlessness and nausea. Xenazine is available in two tablet strengths 12.5 mg (white in color) or 25 mg (yellowish buff in color). Suicidal patients or those with untreated depression should not use Xenazine. Concerns about the risk of suicide are heightened in all patients with Huntington’s disease. Contraindications include patients with impaired hepatic function, and those taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors or reserpine. http://www.drugtopics.com

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Drug Topics - October 13, 2008 Contents Latebreakers Letters Kansas Pharmacists Partner with Law Enforcement to Fight Meth Use Pharmacy Board to Oversee Med Distribution at West Virginia Free Clinics Rx Care JP�at Large Celebrating Community Special Report Self-Care Government and Law Newer Treatment Option for Type 2 Diabetes New Products Advertisers Index Technology Classified Viewpoint:�Pharmacists Must Change our Ways

Drug Topics - October 13, 2008

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