Objective: To examine the long-term effect of repeated boosts of intravenous amantadine in patients with PD with and without response fluctuations and dyskinesias.

Background: Amantadine is an anti-viral drug available in oral and intravenous forms. Oral amantadine is used to treat the motor symptoms of early Parkinson’s disease (PD) and to ameliorate dyskinesias in late stage disease. However, the long-term influence of intravenous amantadine on motor symptoms and dyskinesias in PD has not been investigated.

Methods: Twelve patients diagnosed with PD, 6 with insufficient response to antiparkinson medications and 6 with response fluctuations and dyskinesias, were treated with intravenous amantadine for 6 months: 3 sequential infusions over 3 days in the first month followed by 5 once-monthly infusions. Changes in motor function and involuntary movements were evaluated with the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) (dyskinesia group).

Results: A significant immediate improvement in motor scores was documented in both groups after amantadine infusion. However, the difference in mean UPDRS motor score from before the first infusion to after 6 months of treatment was not statistically significant. In patients with dyskinesia there was a significant improvement in AIMS scores between the first and the last visit (6.3±2.7 vs 1.6±1.3; p=0.014).

Conclusions: Continuous treatment with intravenous amantadine can be useful in patients with PD for immediate relief of motor symptoms and in patients with dyskinesias for progressive reduction of involuntary movements.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effect-of-repeated-intravenous-amantadine-infusions-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/