A Randomized Trial of Amantadine in Huntington Disease

Abstract

Elbow proprioception was not shown to be related to Huntington chorea. Amantadine hydrochloride treatment at doses of 300 mg/d had no effect, on average, for Huntington chorea, although most patients felt subjectively better during the short course of amantadine treatment.

The Role of Dopamine and Glutamate Modulation in Huntington Disease

“…No significant differences in other motor symptoms according to the UHDRS scale were found between the two treatment arms. These results contrast with the findings of O'Suilleabhain and Dewey [22] who carried out a crossover trial involving 24 HD patients, as these authors reported no change in chorea score in the amantadine treated group from baseline. Despite this, 19 patients subjectively reported feeling an improvement with amantadine (e.g.…”

The Role of Dopamine and Glutamate Modulation in Huntington Disease

“…No significant differences in other motor symptoms according to the UHDRS scale were found between the two treatment arms. These results contrast with the findings of O'Suilleabhain and Dewey [22] who carried out a crossover trial involving 24 HD patients, as these authors reported no change in chorea score in the amantadine treated group from baseline. Despite this, 19 patients subjectively reported feeling an improvement with amantadine (e.g.…”

Pharmacological Management of Huntingtons Disease: An Evidence- Based Review

“…These data were confirmed by a level-II study of a 2-hour IV infusion of amantadine or placebo to nine patients with HD on two different days [112] and a level-III paper from the same authors [113]. However, in contrast, in a high-quality, level-I randomized placebocontrolled cross-over trial with 2 weeks of treatment, O'Suilleabhain and Dewey [114] did not observe any effect of amantadine (300 mg/d) on chorea of HD patients, confirmed by two level-II studies [51,115], two level-III papers [116,117] and a case reports [15]. Moreover, amantadine may increase irritability and aggressiveness in HD patients [118], although Heckmann and coworkers recently found an (not significant) improvement in the behavioral scores of HD patients [115].…”

A Scoping Review of Palliative Care for Adults with Huntington's Disease: Current Practice and Future Directions

“…In a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized-controlled trial across 16 sites in the United States, the Huntington Study Group 22 showed a 23.5% reduction in chorea in 84 HD patients given tetrabenazine. The data on amantadine for chorea are mixed—Verhagen Metman et al 23 showed improvement in chorea with amantadine in 24 HD patients, while O'Suilleabhain and Dewey 24 did not find a difference in chorea scores in 25 HD patients given amantadine.…”

“…Of the 17 quantitative studies, 3 reported survey results, 27,28,32 2 reported retrospective data, 11,26 3 were cross-sectional analyses, 13,25,35 4 were prospective cohort studies, 14–17 1 was an open-label, single-arm drug trial, 19 3 were double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized-controlled drug trials, 22–24 and 1 was a case–control analysis of patient symptoms. 12 Among all of the studies, there were 11 single-site trials, 18–20,23,24,27,29,31,33,34,36 11 multiple-site trials in 1 country, 2,11–13,15,22,25,26,28,30,32 2 multiple-site trials across multiple countries, 14,17 and 3 studies that used Internet recruitment across one country. 16,21,35…”

The Role of Dopamine and Glutamate Modulation in Huntington Disease

“…No significant differences in other motor symptoms according to the UHDRS scale were found between the two treatment arms. These results contrast with the findings of O'Suilleabhain and Dewey [22] who carried out a crossover trial involving 24 HD patients, as these authors reported no change in chorea score in the amantadine treated group from baseline. Despite this, 19 patients subjectively reported feeling an improvement with amantadine (e.g.…”

Pharmacological Management of Huntingtons Disease: An Evidence- Based Review

“…These data were confirmed by a level-II study of a 2-hour IV infusion of amantadine or placebo to nine patients with HD on two different days [112] and a level-III paper from the same authors [113]. However, in contrast, in a high-quality, level-I randomized placebocontrolled cross-over trial with 2 weeks of treatment, O'Suilleabhain and Dewey [114] did not observe any effect of amantadine (300 mg/d) on chorea of HD patients, confirmed by two level-II studies [51,115], two level-III papers [116,117] and a case reports [15]. Moreover, amantadine may increase irritability and aggressiveness in HD patients [118], although Heckmann and coworkers recently found an (not significant) improvement in the behavioral scores of HD patients [115].…”

A Scoping Review of Palliative Care for Adults with Huntington's Disease: Current Practice and Future Directions

“…In a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized-controlled trial across 16 sites in the United States, the Huntington Study Group 22 showed a 23.5% reduction in chorea in 84 HD patients given tetrabenazine. The data on amantadine for chorea are mixed—Verhagen Metman et al 23 showed improvement in chorea with amantadine in 24 HD patients, while O'Suilleabhain and Dewey 24 did not find a difference in chorea scores in 25 HD patients given amantadine.…”

“…Of the 17 quantitative studies, 3 reported survey results, 27,28,32 2 reported retrospective data, 11,26 3 were cross-sectional analyses, 13,25,35 4 were prospective cohort studies, 14–17 1 was an open-label, single-arm drug trial, 19 3 were double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized-controlled drug trials, 22–24 and 1 was a case–control analysis of patient symptoms. 12 Among all of the studies, there were 11 single-site trials, 18–20,23,24,27,29,31,33,34,36 11 multiple-site trials in 1 country, 2,11–13,15,22,25,26,28,30,32 2 multiple-site trials across multiple countries, 14,17 and 3 studies that used Internet recruitment across one country. 16,21,35…”

The Role of Dopamine and Glutamate Modulation in Huntington Disease

“…No significant differences in other motor symptoms according to the UHDRS scale were found between the two treatment arms. These results contrast with the findings of O'Suilleabhain and Dewey [22] who carried out a crossover trial involving 24 HD patients, as these authors reported no change in chorea score in the amantadine treated group from baseline. Despite this, 19 patients subjectively reported feeling an improvement with amantadine (e.g.…”

Pharmacological Management of Huntingtons Disease: An Evidence- Based Review

“…These data were confirmed by a level-II study of a 2-hour IV infusion of amantadine or placebo to nine patients with HD on two different days [112] and a level-III paper from the same authors [113]. However, in contrast, in a high-quality, level-I randomized placebocontrolled cross-over trial with 2 weeks of treatment, O'Suilleabhain and Dewey [114] did not observe any effect of amantadine (300 mg/d) on chorea of HD patients, confirmed by two level-II studies [51,115], two level-III papers [116,117] and a case reports [15]. Moreover, amantadine may increase irritability and aggressiveness in HD patients [118], although Heckmann and coworkers recently found an (not significant) improvement in the behavioral scores of HD patients [115].…”

A Scoping Review of Palliative Care for Adults with Huntington's Disease: Current Practice and Future Directions

“…In a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized-controlled trial across 16 sites in the United States, the Huntington Study Group 22 showed a 23.5% reduction in chorea in 84 HD patients given tetrabenazine. The data on amantadine for chorea are mixed—Verhagen Metman et al 23 showed improvement in chorea with amantadine in 24 HD patients, while O'Suilleabhain and Dewey 24 did not find a difference in chorea scores in 25 HD patients given amantadine.…”

“…Of the 17 quantitative studies, 3 reported survey results, 27,28,32 2 reported retrospective data, 11,26 3 were cross-sectional analyses, 13,25,35 4 were prospective cohort studies, 14–17 1 was an open-label, single-arm drug trial, 19 3 were double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized-controlled drug trials, 22–24 and 1 was a case–control analysis of patient symptoms. 12 Among all of the studies, there were 11 single-site trials, 18–20,23,24,27,29,31,33,34,36 11 multiple-site trials in 1 country, 2,11–13,15,22,25,26,28,30,32 2 multiple-site trials across multiple countries, 14,17 and 3 studies that used Internet recruitment across one country. 16,21,35…”