title: The treatment of Friedreich's ataxia with amantadine hydrochloride.
abstract: Amantadine hydrochloride (AH) was orally administered to 16 patients with Friedreich's ataxia. We evaluated patient response with the functional ataxia scoring scale and calculated a total disability score. The mean percent improvement of the total disability score was 29.5%; for ambulatory patients alone it was 45.5%. No significant side effects were encountered. AH appears to be a safe and effective symptomatic treatment of Friedreich's ataxia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saad
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nigro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000547:Amantadine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005621:Friedreich Ataxia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D000547:Amantadine