Tetrabenazine
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| Image:Tetrabenazine.png | |
| Image:Tetrabenazine3d.png | |
| Tetrabenazine
| |
| Systematic (IUPAC) name | |
| 1,3,4,6,7,11b-Hexahydro- 9,10-dimethoxy-3- (2-methylpropyl)- 2H-benzo[a]quinoline; Ro-1-9569 | |
| Identifiers | |
| CAS number | |
| ATC code | N05 |
| PubChem | |
| Chemical data | |
| Formula | C19H27NO3 |
| Mol. mass | 317.427 |
| Pharmacokinetic data | |
| Bioavailability | ? |
| Metabolism | ? |
| Half life | ? |
| Excretion | ? |
| Therapeutic considerations | |
| Pregnancy cat. |
? |
| Legal status | |
| Routes | tablets: 25 mg |
Tetrabenazine is a drug for the symptomatical treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorder and is marketed under the trade names Nitoman® in Canada and Xenazine® in New Zealand and some parts of Europe, and is also available in the USA as an orphan drug. The compound is known since the 1950s. Tetrabenazine works mainly as a VMAT-inhibitor[1] and as such promotes the early metabolic degradation of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Common uses
Tetrabenazine is used as a treatment, but not a cure for hyperkinetic disorders[1] such as:
- Huntington's Disease - specificially the chorea associated with it
- Tourette's Syndrome and other tic disorders
- Tardive dyskinesia, a serious and sometimes irreversible side effect of long-term use of many antipsychotics, mainly typical antipsychotics
- Hemiballismus, spontaneous flinging limb movements due to subthalamic nucleus damage
Side effects
Because tetrabenazine is closely related to the antipsychotics, many of its side effects are similar. Some of these include:
- Akathisia (aka "restless pacing" - an inability to keep still, with intense anxiety when forced to do so)
- Depression - the most common side effect, reported in roughly 15% of those who take the medication
- Dizziness/drowsiness
- Parkinsonism
Unlike many of the antipychotics, tetrabenazine is not known to cause Tardive dyskinesia, and in fact can be an effective treatment for the antipsychotic-induced movement disorder.
Warnings
- Because of the relatively high incidence of depression, it has been recommended that people with a history of depression avoid taking tetrabenazine. Research into this is ongoing however, and this warning may be dropped in the future.
- The concomitant intake of MAO inhibitors is contraindicated.
References
External links
- NIMH Repository data sheet
- Detailed monograph on tetrabenazine on rxmed.com
- Information on tetrabenazine from netdoctor.co.uk
Psycholeptics: antipsychotics (N05A) | |
|---|---|
| Phenothiazine typical antipsychotics | Chlorpromazine • Fluphenazine • Mesoridazine • Perphenazine • Prochlorperazine • Promazine • Thioridazine/Sulforidazine • Trifluoperazine • Triflupromazine |
| Other typical antipsychotics | Indoles (Molindone) • Butyrophenones (Azaperone, Benperidol, Bromperidol, Droperidol, Haloperidol, Trifluperidol) • Thioxanthenes (Flupentixol, Chlorprothixene, Thiothixene, Zuclopenthixol) • diphenylbutylpiperidines (Fluspirilene, Penfluridol, Pimozide) • other (Loxapine) |
| Atypical antipsychotics | Butyrophenones (Melperone) • Indoles (Sertindole, Ziprasidone) • Benzamides (Sulpiride, Remoxipride, Amisulpride) • diazepines/oxazepines/thiazepines (Clozapine, Olanzapine, Quetiapine) • other (Aripiprazole, Risperidone, Paliperidone, Asenapine, Iloperidone, Zotepine) |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
