title: Clinical assessment of the effect of tetrabenazine on functional scales in huntington disease: a pilot open label study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tetrabenazine is a monoamine depleter with a well-documented effect against chorea associated with Huntington disease (HD). There is a paucity of data about how reduction in chorea relates to better performance on motor, gait, cognitive, and psychiatric assessments.
  
  
  METHODS
  We designed an open label tetrabenazine withdrawal study to test performance using validated scales. The following instruments were used to assess cognitive, behavioral, and motor function in 10 patients with documented HD: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Beck Depression Inventory II, Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), Jebsen Hand Test, Timed 25-foot walk, Berg Balance Test (BBT), QuickDASH, and the Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Motor, Stroop Color Word, Behavioral Assessment, Functional Checklist, and Independence Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects performed significantly better while on tetrabenazine as measured by the DGI (p = 0.041), BBT (p = 0.007), and the UHDRS Total Motor (p = 0.009), Maximum Chorea (p = 0.005), and Stroop Color-Word tests (p = 0.028).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This pilot study demonstrates tetrabenazine's potential effects beyond improvement in chorea.
authors: Parkinson's Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic, Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Fekete
authors: Anthony
authors: A
authors: Davidson
authors: Joseph
authors: J
authors: Jankovic
keywords: Huntington disease; Tetrabenazine; chorea