FDA OK's first drug for Huntington's disease

The FDA has OK'd Prestwick Pharmaceuticals' Xenazine, a new drug that can be used to moderate the symptoms of Huntington's disease. This is the first drug to be approved for Huntington's, which can afflict people for 10 to 20 years before killing them as the victim's brain cells waste away. And throughout that time the involuntary movements associated with Huntington's prevents them from leading normal lives.

The FDA notes that the data indicates a short-term improvement in symptoms but has also been linked to depression and cognition issues that will make it inappropriate for some patients.

"Chorea is not just a mere inconvenience; it can prevent Huntington's disease patients from walking, talking, working, watching television and almost every aspect of one's life. We are ecstatic that, through the approval of Xenazine, patients and families will have the option to take the only drug developed specifically for treating the movements of Huntington's disease," said Nancy Wexler, Ph.D., Higgins Professor of Neuropsychology in the departments of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University and president of the Hereditary Disease Foundation.

- check out the Prestwick Pharmaceuticals release
- read what the Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA) has to say
- read the story from the Calgary Herald

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