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Clinical data | |
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Trade names | Xenazine, Xentra, Nitoman, others |
Other names | Ro-1-9569 |
AHFS/Drugs.com | Consumer Drug Information |
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Routes of administration | By mouth |
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Pharmacokinetic data | |
Bioavailability | Low, extensive first pass effect |
Protein binding | 82–85% |
Metabolism | Liver (CYP2D6-mediated) |
Elimination half-life | 10 hours parent compound (2 to 8 hours active metabolites) [3] |
Excretion | Kidney (~75%) and fecal (7–16%) [4] |
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ECHA InfoCard | 100.000.348 |
Chemical and physical data | |
Formula | C19H27NO3 |
Molar mass | 317.429 g·mol−1 |
3D model (JSmol) | |
Chirality | Racemic mixture |
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Tetrabenazine is a drug for the symptomatic treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders. It is sold under the brand names Nitoman and Xenazine among others. On August 15, 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of tetrabenazine to treat chorea associated with Huntington's disease. Although other drugs had been used "off-label", tetrabenazine was the first approved treatment for Huntington's disease in the United States. [5] The compound has been known since the 1950s.
Tetrabenazine is used as a treatment, but not as a cure, for hyperkinetic disorders such as: [6] [7]
Tetrabenazine has been used as an antipsychotic in the treatment of schizophrenia, both in the past [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] and in modern times. [17] [18] [19]
The most common adverse reactions, which have occurred in at least 10% of subjects in studies and at least 5% greater than in subjects who received placebo, have been: sedation or somnolence, fatigue, insomnia, depression, suicidal thoughts, akathisia, anxiety, and nausea. [4] It has also been reported to produce apathy. [20]
There is a boxed warning associated with the use of tetrabenazine: [4]
The precise mechanism of action of tetrabenazine is unknown. Its anti-chorea effect is believed to be due to a reversible depletion of monoamines such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and histamine from nerve terminals. Tetrabenazine reversibly inhibits vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), resulting in decreased uptake of monoamines into synaptic vesicles, as well as depletion of monoamine storage. [4]
Tetrabenazine is used in the only animal model of motivational dysfunction. [21] [22] The drug results in selective depletion of dopamine at low doses of 0.25 to 1.0 mg/kg and induces a low-effort bias in effort-based decision-making tasks at these doses. [20] [21] [22] It has been found to reduce striatal or nucleus accumbens dopamine levels by 57 to 75% at a dose of 0.75–1.0 mg/kg in rats. [20] In contrast, levels of serotonin and norepinephrine are only reduced by up to 15 to 30% at this dosage. [20] A 10-fold higher dosage of 10 mg/kg is needed to decrease serotonin levels as much as the reduction in dopamine levels at 1 mg/kg. [20] The low-effort bias of systemic administration of tetrabenazine also occurs when it is injected directly into the nucleus accumbens but not the overlying medial neostriatum (i.e., dorsal striatum). [20] Dopamine D1 receptor antagonists like ecopipam and dopamine D2 receptor antagonists like haloperidol have similar amotivational effects as tetrabenazine in animals. [20] [22]
A number of pro-motivational drugs have been found to reverse the amotivational effects of tetrabenazine. [20] [21] [22] These include the dopamine releasing agent lisdexamfetamine, the dopamine reuptake inhibitors methylphenidate, bupropion, modafinil, vanoxerine, PRX-14040, and MRZ-9547, and the MAO-B inhibitor and catecholaminergic activity enhancer selegiline. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] Selegiline shows a complicated U-shaped dose–response curve in its efficacy in the model. [21] [24] In contrast to the preceding agents, many antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like fluoxetine and citalopram, the norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs) desipramine and atomoxetine, the selective MAO-A inhibitor moclobemide, and the non-selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor pargyline, are ineffective in reversing tetrabenazine-induced amotivational symptoms. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] SSRIs and NRIs actually induced further motivational impairments at high doses. [21] [23]
A retrospective longitudinal study in a cohort of 23 children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy was conducted where they were treated with tetrabenazine. Results showed significant improvement in movement disorders over time. The study supports tetrabenzine's potential for DCP treatment and shows that the MD-CRS 4-18 scale is a tool for tracking progress in future clinical trials. [25]
However, there is currently only one published animal model of motivational dysfunction, using tetrabenazine (TBZ), which is a selective inhibitor of vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) also known as solute carrier family 18 member 2 (SLC18A2). VMAT2 is a protein which depletes dopamine (DA), but treatment with TBZ produces depression symptoms in patients (Kenney et al., 2006). [...] Treatment of animals with the VMAT2 inhibitor TBZ induces a low effort bias or amotivational symptoms in these effort-based, decision-making tasks (Contreras-Mora et al., 2018; Nunes et al., 2013, 2014; Randall et al., 2014). [...] Administration of the monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitor, deprenyl, has been shown to reverse the low effort bias or amotivational symptoms induced by TBZ in effort based decision-making tasks (Contreras-Mora et al., 2018). Treatment with the most common antidepressant drugs, SSRIs, fluoxetine or citalopram, does not reverse the effort based effects of TBZ and in fact produced further impairments in lever pressing (Yohn et al., 2016). Administration of a different class of antidepressant therapy, norepinephrine uptake inhibitor, desipramine, did not reverse TBZ effects either (Yohn et al., 2016). Interestingly MAO inhibitors can also be used in the treatment of depression but only irreversible MAO-B inhibitors like deprenyl, and not MAO-A inhibitors, have antidepressant effects in humans and recover TBZ effects in rodents (Contreras-Mora et al., 2018; Jang et al., 2013; Sclar et al., 2013). [...] The dose–response of deprenyl generates an inverted U-shaped dose–response curve, suggesting correct dosing is essential (Contreras-Mora et al., 2018). It is possible deprenyl is blocking both MAO-A and MAO-B at higher doses which is producing the inverted U-shaped response.