Betaine Anhydrous Brand Name– Cystadane
What is Betaine Anhydrous
Betaine anhydrous is an orally administered methyl group donor for the treatment of patients with homocystinuria. Betaine is involved in the normal metabolic cycle of methionine.
Dietary sources that supply small amounts of betaine include beets, spinach, cereals, and seafood. Betaine is also a metabolite of choline.
In patients with homocystinuria due to an inborn error of metabolism, dietary sources and endogenous production supply insufficient amounts of betaine to control the greatly elevated plasma homocysteine concentrations.
Care should be taken not to confuse betaine anhydrous with the betaine hydrochloride (HCl) salt form.
Betaine HCl is available primarily as a dietary supplement but has been used clinically to lower gastric pH.
Betaine anhydrous does not have the same effect on gastric pH and should not be used for this purpose. The FDA first approved the use of betaine anhydrous as a nutritional pharmaceutical for primary homocystinuria in October 1996.
Indications
- homocystinuria
For the adjunct treatment of homocystinuria in order to reduce plasma homocysteine levels; including in those patients with deficiencies or defects in 1) cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS); 2) 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR); and 3) cobalamin cofactor metabolism (cbl)
Side Effects
- abdominal pain
- agitation
- alopecia
- anorexia
- cerebral edema
- depression
- diarrhea
- drug-induced body odor
- dyspepsia
- emotional lability
- glossitis
- insomnia
- irritability
- nausea
- urinary incontinence
- urticaria
- vomiting
Monitoring Parameters
- plasma homocysteine
- plasma methionine
Contraindications
- breast-feeding
- hypermethioninemia
- pregnancy
- requires an experienced clinician
Interactions
There are no drug interactions associated with Betaine Anhydrous products.
