What is "tetrabenazine"

n. A drug for the symptomatic treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorder.

Tetrabenazine is a drug for the symptomatic treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders. It is marketed under the trade names Nitoman in Canada and Xenazine in New Zealand and some parts of Europe, and is available as Xenazine in the United States as an orphan drug. On August 15, 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 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 U.S. The compound has been known since the 1950s.