Dr. Zesiewicz said she hopes new agents will be designed to target ET specifically. The currently recommended agents range from antiepileptics to medications used to treat schizophrenia – and only one, propranolol, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ET. (Even primidone is not FDA-approved, despite its widespread, long-term use.)
“What's important to understand is that ET may be a heterogeneous condition,” Dr. Zesiewicz said. “When we pick that apart and truly understand the mechanisms by which ET occurs, we may be able to develop research and medications specific to the problem.”
Dr. Zesiewicz disclosed having received speakers' fees other forms of support from Teva, Boehringer Ingelheim, Allergan, and Novartis, along with research support from Pfizer, and is an inventor on a provisional patent on the use of nicotinic modulators in treating ataxia and imbalance held by the University of South Florida. Several of Dr. Zesiewicz's coauthors on the ET guideline acknowledged support from these and other companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Phytopharm, Janssen, Allergan, Novartis, Ipsen, Merz, Lundbeck, and Bayer.