Taltirelin

A little while ago, a member on the MJD Family forum posted about a drug called Ceredist (generic name: Taltirelin) that is only available by prescription in Japan. Her mother, who is Japanese, has taken the drug for a few years. Ceredist is manufactured by a Japanese pharmaceutical company, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma.

Wikipedia's entry on Taltirelin reads:

Taltirelin (marketed under the tradename Ceredist) is a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) analog, which mimics the physiological actions of TRH, but with a much longer half-life and duration of effects,^[1] and little development of tolerance following prolonged dosing.^[2] It has nootropic,^[3] neuroprotective^[4] and analgesic effects,^[5] and is primarily being researched for the treatment of Spinocerebellar ataxia.

The member who made this post was uncertain whether or not the drug had any beneficial effects on her mother but hypothesized that "it has slowed down the disease, if anything."

It might be something that an MJDer who is living Japan might consider following up on but has probably been made aware of by the physicians there already. In any case, it is reassuring to know that there is at least one pharmaceutical company that has successfully developed and marketed a drug (albeit perhaps on the palliative side) for SCA.