Objective: Describe clinical characteristics and changes in mental, socioemotional, and physical domains of individuals with tardive dyskinesia (TD) after valbenazine (VBZ) treatment.

Background: Prior research suggests TD can impair patient functioning. VBZ, a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitor, is approved and guideline-recommended for treatment of TD.

Method: Clinicians reported data for patients who started VBZ between 1/1/2024-6/30/2024, completed ≥2 months of treatment, and had ≥1 follow-up visit. Questions on burden and improvement were based on patient chart data and clinician recall. Out of 315 individuals receiving VBZ, 20 individuals receiving maintenance VBZ (40-80mg) were randomly selected. 6 cases were chosen to highlight a variety of patient characteristics.

Results: At baseline, all 6 individuals (ages 31-78 years, 4 males, 2 females) were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder (n=4 schizophrenia, n=2 mood disorder), had previous antipsychotic exposure, and were moderately/significantly impacted in ≥1 functional area. Length of symptoms was 3-5 years for 5 individuals and <1 year for 1 individual; 2 individuals each were reported with mild, moderate, or severe movement symptoms.

All 6 moderately/significantly improved in ≥1 functional area; most (5/6) had improvement in movement symptoms within 4 weeks of starting VBZ. [Table 1]. Among the 3 individuals employed, all improved in ability/willingness to work. Psychiatric condition improved for all. Antipsychotic adherence improved in 4 (1 unknown).

Conclusion: This case series adds granularity to the growing body of evidence that improvement extends beyond movement symptoms following appropriate TD treatment.

Level of improvement by functional area after VBZ

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/physical-mental-and-socioemotional-functional-improvement-following-valbenazine-treatment-for-td-a-case-series/