Amantadine therapy for fatigue in multiple sclerosis.
We carried out a double blind control study of fatigue in 32 patients with multiple sclerosis, comparing amantadine hydrochloride 100 mg twice a day and placebo. On amantadine 31% had marked improvement; 15.6% moderate improvement; 15.6% mild improvement; and 36.5% unchanged. On placebo, none noted marked improvement; one claimed moderate improvement on either amantadine or placebo. 18.7% reported mild improvement on placebo; and most of them had similar or more response to amantadine. No patient selected placebo over amantadine at the end of the trial. Overall improvement was seen in 62.5% of patients on amantadine and 21.8% on placebo. Additional experience up to two years suggests continued benefit but common and important side-effects.
D000547:Amantadine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005221:Fatigue / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications*
D000547:Amantadine