AUTHOR=Ha Catherine A. , Maguire Gerald A. 

TITLE=Case Report: Deutetrabenazine as an Adjunctive Treatment for Stuttering

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.683368

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2021.683368

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder (Stuttering) is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which disturbances occur in the normal fluency and time patterning of speech. While the dopamine system has been well described in its neurophysiology, there currently is no FDA-approved treatment for stuttering. Second-generation antipsychotics, which have been effective in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, act as dopamine D-2 receptor antagonists at the postsynaptic neuron and have been shown to reduce the symptoms of stuttering. However, many of the D-2 receptor antagonist agents carry the potential for metabolic side effects and can potentially lead to movement disorders. Deutetrabenazine, a VMAT-2 inhibitor indicated to treat hyperkinetic movement disorders, is a potential candidate in the treatment of stuttering, based on its mechanism of action in decreasing dopamine activity while not carrying the risk of metabolic adverse events.