Is tetrabenazine safe and effective for suppressing chorea in Huntington's disease?
Blair R Leavitt and Michael R Hayden*
Correspondence *Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, 980 West 28th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
Email mrh@cmmt.ubc.ca
This article has no abstract so we have provided the first paragraph of the full text.
HD is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder that affects approximately one in 10,000 individuals in North America; the disease is characterized by progressive motor, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms.1 The movement disorder in HD consists both of abnormal involuntary movements, such as chorea and dystonia, and of an impaired control of voluntary movements. Motor symptoms can also include rigidity, bradykinesia, eye movement abnormalities, and gait or balance problems. There are currently no therapies proven to slow down or reverse the inexorable progression of HD, but judicious use of symptomatic agents can improve the quality of life of patients and their caregivers.2 Medical treatment of chorea is indicated when chorea has a considerable impact on daily function, with treatment options including drugs that decrease dopaminergic neurotransmission, such as typical and atypical neuroleptics, and tetrabenazine.3
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