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Amantadine in the Akinetic-Rigid Variant of Huntington's Disease

University Clinic of Psychiatry, Karl-Franzens University Graz, Graz, Austria

Raphael M Bonelli, MD

Staff Scientist, University Clinic of Psychiatry, Karl-Franzens University Graz

Hans-Peter Kapfhammer, MD PhD

Professor, Head of the Department, University Clinic of Psychiatry, Karl-Franzens University Graz

Reprints: Raphael M Bonelli MD, University Clinic of Psychiatry, Karl-Franzens University Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 31, 8036 Graz, Austria, fax 43 316 385 3556, raphael.bonelli{at}klinikum-graz.at

OBJECTIVE: To report the effects of amantadine on an akinetic-rigid variant of Huntington's disease (HD).

CASE SUMMARY: We describe a 36-year-old woman with HD who was treated with intravenous amantadine for 5 days. The woman was evaluated with the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale before and after treatment. Parkinsonism, bradykinesia, and dystonia improved significantly.

DISCUSSION: Amantadine is a noncompetitive N-methyl D-aspartate receptor antagonist. It is mainly used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, as it increases dopamine levels in the brain. This effect is said to ameliorate akinesia. Although the effect of amantadine on choreatic dystonia in HD has been reported in several studies, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the ameliorative effects of amantadine on the rigid form of HD. Our patient showed improvements of gait, parkinsonism, and dystonia. Fine-motor tasks and eye movement did not change significantly.

CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that amantadine treatment might be of value to patients with the akinetic-rigid variant of HD.

Key Words: amantadine, Huntington's disease, akinetic-rigid variant

Published Online, June 3, 2004. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1E004

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Z Schmidt, P. Hofmann, H.-P. Kapfhammer, and R. M Bonelli Drug holiday in Huntington's disease Ann. Pharmacother., April 1, 2005; 39(4): 773 - 773. [Full Text] [PDF]