Amantadine and COVID-19. “The threat of toxicity has no justification here”

Amantadine, currently a drug for Parkinson’s disease, is expected to be used in the treatment of COVID-19. In Poland, under the supervision of prof. Konrad Rejdak, research is ongoing to assess the effectiveness of amantadine in the treatment of coronavirus. And although numerous reports from patients are very promising, the concept is criticized by prof. Simon. He claims that amantadine can cause the virus to start mutating.

1. Amantadine is an ingredient of drugs used in Parkinson’s disease
2. Professors Rejdak and Grieb are the first in the world to publish a clinical report on amantadine and COVID-19
3. The clinical phase begins at the turn of February and March, which is to prove the positive influence of amantadine on the course of the disease
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Amantadine Will Help Treat COVID-19? Research is ongoing

The beginnings of research on the influence of amantadine on the course of COVID-19 date back to the first months of 2020. Already then, prof. Konrad Rejdak from the Medical University of Lublin and prof. Paweł Grieb from the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine M. Mossakowski PAS published the first clinical report in the world on neurological patients taking amantadine in the context of COVID-19.

1. Also check: There is a shortage of amantadine in pharmacies. Research on its effectiveness is ongoing

Scientists have described that a drug that has been used for decades to treat Parkinson’s disease, or to alleviate the effects of multiple sclerosis, can alleviate the course of coronavirus infection. The report has already been cited nearly 40 times in the world literature, and a group of Polish specialists has been collecting data for months so that the innovative therapy could be implemented in patients.

– Unfortunately, the whole process takes a while – explained Prof. Konrad Rejdak. – However, we already have the administrative part behind us. At the turn of February and March, we will be able to start the clinical phase, that is, include patients with symptoms of infection and comorbidities in the process. They are at risk of a more severe course of COVID-19, which may be prevented by amantadine. It is crucial that these are patients without respiratory failure. In our opinion, this is the best time to start the drug – it is to prevent the respiratory distress phase.

How can amantadine help people with COVID-19?

Breathing disorders are not the only part of COVID-19 disease that amantadine is expected to help.

– It’s a drug with a complex mechanism of action. We believe that it has moderate antiviral activity. In addition, it is absorbed into the central nervous system and viral invasion also occurs there. Additionally, amantadine stimulates messenger systems in the brain. In practice, this means that it supports the body in the fight against the disease. We believe that amantadine’s stimulation of messenger systems may prove beneficial in preventing complications related to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Amantadine cannot be used on its own

Due to reports of a possible positive effect of amantadine on the course of the disease, pharmacies buy drugs containing this ingredient. Patients often get them on their own. Prof. Rejdak, however, advises against such actions.

– You must not self-medicate or get medicine from grandma or grandpa. We are at the stage of waiting for the results of reliable research, which we hope will appear in a month or two. Each drug must undergo specific procedures, because then we get scientific evidence of sufficient strength. I will only add that if a doctor who knows the patient’s state of health prescribes such a drug for him and it is their joint decision, it is difficult to interfere with something like that. But I don’t recommend self-treatment. Each prescription drug has different side effects individually, and the correct dosage is also necessary.

1. Also read: Can amantadine help people infected with coronavirus?

Professor Rejdak also emphasizes that the use of amantadine should not exempt from the need to monitor one’s health.

– When the disease escalates, we should seek medical attention. We must not have the false feeling that we have the drug, so nothing will happen, there will be no respiratory disorders and no severe COVID-19 course. No drug is XNUMX% effective.

The virus will mutate by amantadine? Prof. Rejdak refutes the accusations of prof. Simon

There are critical voices in the case of amantadine treatment. Research on this form of therapy for patients infected with coronavirus is criticized by Prof. Krzysztof Simon.

– Amantadine is a drug that has been widely used in neurology for over 30 years. We are not talking about some unknown substance. The scare with toxicity has no justification here, because it is used by elderly people, burdened with neurological diseases. I agree that at this stage we are dealing with a series of cases and not with the results of controlled studies. And of course, I understand that at the moment there is no reason to include the drug in the recommendations, because these are based on the accumulated scientific evidence. But we have several thousand reports from people in Poland who have been taking the drug off-label and report that it works.

The main objection of prof. Simona is associated with mutations. He says amantadine may contribute to the formation of further COVID-19 variants.

– I have not encountered any scientific research confirming this type of view. Any antiviral drug that works may favor the selection of virus variants resistant to that drug. And the virus mutates spontaneously because that’s the nature of viruses. This is also what happened with the influenza A virus, which mutates every year and not because of amantadine. Similar actions can be expected from the currently used and registered drugs in COVID-19 therapy. You cannot give up looking for cures for diseases for fear that new mutations will emerge. With this assumption, we should stop using antiviral drugs altogether.

Also read:

1. It is a myth that you cannot ‘catch’ the coronavirus outdoors. Here are the rules that must be followed
2. These factors will determine the course of the pandemic. IHME: The next four months will be crucial
3. Who Becomes a Super Carrier? There are three factors
4. The fit of the COVID-19 mask is more important than the material it is made of
5. Complications after COVID-19. What are the symptoms and what tests should be done after the disease?

The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website. Do you need a medical consultation or an e-prescription? Go to halodoctor.pl, where you will get online help – quickly, safely and without leaving your home.Now you can use e-consultation also free of charge under the National Health Fund.