Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41003150›Full record

SynthesisMedical sciences (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Efficacy and Safety of VMAT-2 Inhibitors and Dopamine Stabilizers for Huntington's Chorea: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Trial Sequential Analysis.

Lautaro Manuel Floridia Rietmann, Candela Romano, Salma Alejandra Beltrán Covarrubias, Jose Antonio Gomez Miranda, Omar Enrique Briceño Cardeña, Shwetha Shenod, Ada Victoria Marrero Peralta, Genesis Mariana Ferrer Zavala, Prasanth Hanumanthu, Omar Borges Sosa and 1 more

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Lautaro Manuel Floridia RietmannFacultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe 3000, Argentina.ORCID 0009-0007-1419-3885
Candela RomanoDepartment of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.ORCID 0009-0001-7858-7724
Salma Alejandra Beltrán CovarrubiasCentro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico.
Jose Antonio Gomez MirandaFacultad de Medicina, Universidad del del Salvador, San Salvador 1101, El Salvador.ORCID 0009-0009-3218-2359
Omar Enrique Briceño CardeñaFacultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida 97000, Mexico.ORCID 0009-0007-9330-3359
Shwetha ShenodPSG Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Coimbatore 641004, India.ORCID 0009-0002-0296-4981
Ada Victoria Marrero PeraltaFacultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago, Santiago de los Caballeros 51000, Dominican Republic.ORCID 0009-0001-9255-577X
Genesis Mariana Ferrer ZavalaFacultad de Medicina, La Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo 4002, Venezuela.ORCID 0009-0009-4227-3107
Prasanth HanumanthuInternational Faculty of Medicine, Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi 0186, Georgia.
Omar Borges SosaDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
Ernesto Calderon MartinezDepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Texas at Houston Medical Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2237-9536

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHuntington's disease (HD) causes progressive motor dysfunction, with chorea as its hallmark symptom. Vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT 2) inhibitors (tetrabenazine, deutetrabenazine, valbenazine) are established symptomatic therapies, while dopamine stabilizers (pridopidine, ordopidine) are emerging therapies, but their net benefit and safety remain uncertain.

methodsSeven databases were searched through May 2025 following PRISMA guidelines. Random effects meta-analyses calculated mean differences (MDs) for the Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale total motor score (UHDRS TMS) and total maximal chorea score (TMC), plus risk ratios (RRs) for adverse events (AEs). Trial Sequential Analysis (TSA) applied a Lan DeMets O'Brien Fleming α spending function with 80% power.

resultsSeven randomized trials (1431 participants) met inclusion criteria. VMAT 2 inhibitors significantly improved motor outcomes versus placebo (UHDRS TMS: MD -3.80, 95% CI -5.76 to -1.83; TMC: MD -3.05, 95% CI -3.84 to -2.26; both I

conclusionsVMAT-2 inhibitors may suggest potential improvements in motor symptoms in Huntington's disease, while current evidence does not demonstrate a significant benefit of dopamine stabilizers. The safety profiles of both treatments appear generally comparable to placebo. Further rigorous and long-term studies are required to better establish their efficacy and safety.

Indexed as

Dopamine AgentsHuntington DiseaseVesicular Monoamine Transport ProteinsHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTetrabenazineTreatment OutcomeDopamine AgentsSLC18A2 protein, humanTetrabenazineVesicular Monoamine Transport ProteinschoreaefficacyHuntington’s diseasemeta-analysispridopidinesafetytetrabenazine

Identifiers

PMID41003150
PMCPMC12471964

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.