Treatment of Acute Herpes Zoster with Amantadine Hydrochloride (Symmetrel)

Abstract

SummaryA double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of amantadine hydrochloride (Symmetrel) in acute herpes zoster (shingles) was carried out in 100 patients in general practice. The cases were serologically proved. There was no difference in duration of pain between the drug and placebo groups when pain disappeared during the 28 days' observation period. However, pain lasted more than 28 days in a significantly greater proportion of patients receiving placebo than of those on amantadine. Patients with pain after the 28-day observation period were significantly older than those whose pain disappeared during the study. The drug had no effect on rate of healing or appearance of new lesions.

The Lipophilic Bullet Hits the Targets: Medicinal Chemistry of Adamantane Derivatives

“…231 Patients treated with amantadine had a significantly shorter duration of pain, the mode of action of the drug being unknown. Herpes zoster , however, is caused by the Varicella zoster virus; albeit belonging to the same family of herpes viridae, they constitute a different target presumably requiring different chemotherapeutics; however, to round off this chapter, we mention this study here.…”

Effect of Early Administration of the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Antagonist Amantadine on the Development of Postmastectomy Pain Syndrome: A Prospective Pilot Study

“…The dose in the present study (200 mg/day) was chosen on the basis of another study in which amantadine significantly reduced the prevalence of post-herpetic neuralgia in patients with acute herpes zoster, 15 as well as on our previous clinical experience with patients with neuropathic pain. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that higher doses of amantadine are needed to prevent PMPS.…”

“…Randomization was done in blocks of 4 according to a pre-prepared random code. On the basis of a previous study 15 and on our previous clinical experience with amantadine in the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain, we estimated that the effective daily dose of amantadine should be 200 mg. Treatment was initiated on the day before surgery and continued daily for 14 consecutive days.…”

Glutamatantagonisten bei neuropathischen Schmerzen

“…Grundlage für diese Wirkung ist ein Antagonismus am NMDA-Rezeptor. Ein erster Hinweis auf eine analgetische Wirkung ergab sich aus der Beobachtung, dass Amantadin die postherpetische Neuralgie verhindern kann [15]. Allerdings kann dieser Effekt durchaus auch durch die virustatische Wirkung bedingt sein.…”