Valbenazine Use for Tardive Dyskinesia in Older Adults Proves Efficacious

Valbenazine use for tardive dyskinesia (TD) in adults aged 65 and older has been deemed efficacious with comparable outcomes to younger adults, according to a post hoc analysis presented in a poster at Psych Congress 2021 in San Antonio, Texas.

Valbenazine is an approved, once-daily treatment for TD with no dosing restrictions. It is classified as a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitor and works by altering the activity of neural substances in the brain.

In this analysis, Martha Sajatovic, MD, professor of psychiatry and neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, and colleagues reviewed “data from three 6-week double-blind placebo-controlled (DBPC) studies (KINECT, KINECT 2, KINECT 3) and two 48-week long-term studies (KINECT 3-extension, KINECT 4)” in adults aged 65 and older compared against adults younger than 65 years.

Sajatovic et al used the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) to assess the progress of study participants taking valbenazine. They note that “AIMS outcomes in the older subgroup were generally comparable to (or better than) outcomes in the younger subgroup and overall study populations.”

Their findings show that in older adults there was greater improvement in TD symptoms from those taking valbenazone compared with the placebo (P ≤ 0.05). Also of note, “the pooled long-term studies indicated that TD continued to improve with valbenazine” vs the placebo (P ≤ 0.05).

Sajatovic et al conclude by confirming “[a]nalyses of clinical trial data indicate that older participants (≥65yrs) with TD who took valbenazine once-daily for up to 48 weeks had substantial and clinically meaningful AIMS improvements.”     

Reference

Sajatovic M, Farahmand K, Shah C, Lundt L. Effects of once-daily valbenazine in older and younger adults with tardive dyskinesia. Poster presented at: Psych Congress; October 29-November 1, 2021.