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Now Ida, do I have this correctly? -- Amantadine IS in fact an antiviral >medication, but, its effectiveness in reducing tremor in PD is because it >is ALSO a glutamate antagonist, and glutamates inhibit dopamine. Ivan That is not completely correct. Amantadine started its career as a med, against virusses. It was discovered by coincidence. I guess a PWP suffered from the flue, that it amelioreated too PD. But why it could do so was for a long time a mystery. I don't know how and when it is discovered to be an anti-glutamate too. But it seems to be (so they Say). But there is more. Researchers do know much of the role of glutamate. To understand this one has first to know that in the CNS much systens are managed by two transmitters(who are antagonist in relation to each other and are mutual inhibiting. One example are dopamine and acetylcholine in the subthalamus These two should inhibit each other but in PWP's this equilibrium is disturbed bylacking dopamine. So the acetylcholine is too active. That causes a too high level f tension in the muscles.One can partly restore the equilibrium by taking dopamine, but also by taking an anti-cholinergic, which causes a new equilibrium on a lower level. Another partner of dopamine is glutamate. They both manage the level of activity in .o.the Globus Pallidus. So in PWP,s the glutamates are too active in the Globus Pallidus, and that caueses a too high level of motor activity, which cannot be inhibited. This is the main cause of wearing off- or interdose- or evening dyskinesias and cause too Akathisia which is something like not being able to keep oneself seated. So antiglutamates can do in the globius pallidus the same as anti-cholinergics in the subthalamus. That is why some researchers are trying to produce a glutamate-antagonist, which works with enough specificity, so it does not cause intolarable side-effects. These glutamate-antagonists are also expected to be effective against craving responses of drug addicts, who are kicking off. I did found the university of Tuebingen Germany as a place where research among this line is executed. Regards IDA -------------------------------------------------------------- Vriendelijke Groeten / Kind regards, Ida Kamphuis mailto: [log in to unmask]