Betahistine

Betahistine
Clinical data
Trade namesSerc, others
AHFS/Drugs.comInternational Drug Names
Pregnancy
category
  • C (risk not ruled out)
Routes of
administration
By mouth
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
  • In general: ℞ (Prescription only)
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability~100%[1]
Protein binding<5%[1]
MetabolismLiver[1]
Metabolites2-(2-Aminoethyl)pyridine
• 2-Pyridylacetic acid[1]
Onset of action<1 hour (peak)[2]
Elimination half-life3.5 hours[3]
ExcretionUrine: 91%[1]
Identifiers
  • methyl[2‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)ethyl]amine
CAS Number
PubChem CID
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEBI
ChEMBL
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
ECHA InfoCard100.024.625 Edit this at Wikidata
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC8H12N2
Molar mass136.198 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • n1ccccc1CCNC
  • InChI=1S/C8H12N2/c1-9-7-5-8-4-2-3-6-10-8/h2-4,6,9H,5,7H2,1H3 checkY
  • Key:UUQMNUMQCIQDMZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  (verify)

Betahistine, sold under the brand name Serc among others, is an anti-vertigo medication. It is commonly prescribed for balance disorders or to alleviate vertigo symptoms. It was first registered in Europe in 1970 for the treatment of Ménière's disease, but current evidence does not support its efficacy in treating it.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b c d e Dickenson A (2017). Drugs in Neurology. Oxford University Press. pp. 408–409. ISBN 978-0-19-966436-8.
  2. ^ White R, Bradnam V (2015). Handbook of Drug Administration via Enteral Feeding Tubes (3rd ed.). Pharmaceutical Press. pp. 125–. ISBN 978-0-85711-162-3.
  3. ^ Tiziani AP (2013). Havard's Nursing Guide to Drugs. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 1063–. ISBN 978-0-7295-8162-2.
  4. ^ James AL, Burton MJ (2001). "Betahistine for Menière's disease or syndrome". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2001 (1): CD001873. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001873. PMC 6769057. PMID 11279734.
  5. ^ Adrion C, Fischer CS, Wagner J, Gürkov R, Mansmann U, Strupp M (January 2016). "Efficacy and safety of betahistine treatment in patients with Meniere's disease: primary results of a long term, multicentre, double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, dose defining trial (BEMED trial)". BMJ. 352: h6816. doi:10.1136/bmj.h6816. PMC 4721211. PMID 26797774.