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Published on: December 8, 2014
Amantadine treatment following traumatic brain injury in children
1Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5719, USA. sharonw@stanford.edu
Insights
Amantadine may benefit children with head injuries by improving alertness and arousal. Further research is needed to confirm these findings for pediatric traumatic brain injury recovery.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Neurorehabilitation
Background:
- Head injuries in children can lead to significant cognitive and behavioral deficits.
- Amantadine is a medication sometimes used to manage symptoms following brain injury.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing literature on amantadine's efficacy in pediatric head injury patients.
- To assess the current evidence for amantadine's use in improving outcomes after pediatric head trauma.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive MEDLINE search was performed to identify relevant studies.
- Included studies encompassed prospective, retrospective, and case study designs.
- Data extraction focused on dosage, side effects, and efficacy measures.
Main Results:
- Five studies were identified, with consistent dosage and side effect profiles.
- Amantadine demonstrated positive effects on alertness and arousal in all reviewed studies.
- Outcomes related to behavioral and cognitive measures showed mixed results.
Conclusions:
- Current literature suggests potential clinical benefits of amantadine for children with head injuries.
- Larger, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are recommended to validate these preliminary findings.
- Further investigation is warranted to establish amantadine's role in pediatric TBI management.
Primary Objective:
The focus of this paper is to review the current literature on the use of amantadine in children who have sustained a head injury.
Main Outcomes And Results:
A MEDLINE search was conducted and yielded five papers. They were composed of prospective, retrospective and case study designs. Dosage use and side effect profiles were consistent with expected norms. Efficacy was measures primarily by alertness and arousal and positive results were found for all studies on these dimensions. Behavioural and cognitive measures of outcome yielded mixed results.
Conclusions:
The studies reviewed for this paper suggest that amantadine is clinically beneficial for children who have sustained head injuries. Double blind placebo controlled trials with larger sample sizes are needed to further substantiate these findings.
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