A systematic review on treatment of tardive dyskinesia with valbenazine and deutetrabenazine

Recent reports state that the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia (TD) is 32% with typical antipsychotics, and 13% with atypical antipsychotics. Current evidence-based recommendations determine an unmet need for efficacious treatment of TD. This systematic review was planned to update the evidence for TD treatment, comparing two vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) inhibitors, deutetrabenazine (DBZ), and valbenazine (VBZ). Of 75 PubMed search results, 11 studies met the review criteria. Efficacy and tolerability were demonstrated in a series of randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials in our review study, and the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale response of > 50% reduction in score was robust for VBZ 80 mg/day in short-term and long-term studies. On the contrary, DBZ was equally efficacious at 12 mg twice daily, but additional information about long-term efficacy and persistence of effect is needed.