Tag: Huntington s disease

First approved by the FDA in 2017 for tardive dyskinesia, Ingrezza was the first medication developed specifically for this condition. This makes many wonder: What type of med is Ingrezza? It is a selective vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor, a class of drugs that regulates dopamine signaling in the brain.

Affecting one in four patients taking certain antipsychotic medications, tardive dyskinesia is a significant movement disorder [1.8.3]. So, **what type of drug is deutetrabenazine?** It is a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor used to manage this and other movement disorders [1.2.1].

Pharmacological inhibition of the vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) has been shown to cause depressive-like symptoms in humans, a finding that helped establish the monoamine-deficiency hypothesis of depression. Today, understanding **what happens if VMAT2 is inhibited** is crucial for treating specific neurological disorders by regulating neurotransmitter levels in the brain.

Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two novel VMAT2 inhibitors in 2017, the treatment paradigm for movement disorders like tardive dyskinesia and Huntington's chorea has been significantly modernized. These newer agents address long-standing challenges associated with earlier treatments, answering the critical question: **what are the new VMAT2 inhibitors** that offer improved efficacy and tolerability?

Despite being used to treat a movement disorder often caused by antipsychotic medication, Ingrezza (valbenazine) is definitively not an antipsychotic drug itself. Ingrezza belongs to a completely different pharmacological class known as a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor.

Deutetrabenazine, first approved by the FDA in 2017, is primarily classified as a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor. This medication, known by the brand names Austedo and Austedo XR, is a specifically modified version of the older drug tetrabenazine, designed for improved pharmacokinetics.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Ingrezza (valbenazine) was the first drug specifically approved to treat tardive dyskinesia. This medication's unique mechanism of action places it in the drug classification of vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitors.

First approved by the FDA in 2008 as the first drug specifically for a symptom of Huntington's disease, tetrabenazine was a landmark treatment. So, what does tetrabenazine treat, and how does it manage the involuntary movements associated with certain neurological conditions?