While doing some file cleaning, I found the following... It is one
report from the Fourth International Congress of Movement Disorders that
was held in Vienna in 1996.
Acute Delirium Associated With Amantadine Withdrawal In Parkinson
Patients
VIENNA, Jun 20, 1996 (Reuters) - Physicians should be aware of the
possible emergence
of an acute delirium when withdrawing amantadine treatment for patients
with Parkinson
disease, New York investigators advised the Vienna conference attendees.
Dr. Stewart Factor, a neurologist at Albany Medical College,
described the cases
of three patients on long-term amantadine treatment who developed
symptoms of acute
delirium after being gradually tapered off the drug.
All patients had worsening of their Parkinson symptoms, all had an
acute onset of
confusion, disorientation and agitation and two of the three became
paranoid.
Adjusting the patients' other medications did not alleviate
symptoms, Dr. Factor
said. Only the reinstitution of amantadine returned patients to their
baseline status.
As for the mechanism that might explain the occurrence of acute
delirium, Dr.
Factor proposed that: "Amantadine is believed to have dopaminergic
effects by
enhancing the release or blocking the reuptake of dopamine.
Sudden withdrawal could play a role [in the development of acute
delirium] as it
is believed to in neuroleptic malignant syndrome, which has occasionally
been reported
with amantadine cessation."
Dr. Factor told congress attendees that he believes that he is the
first to describe
the complication in patients with Parkinson disease.
Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998 Reuters Ltd.
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
[log in to unmask]
^^^^
\ /
\ | / Today’s Research
\\ | // ...Tomorrow’s Cure
\ | /
\|/
`````
