Anti-influenza drug Amantadine accelerates brain injury recovery

In the event of a fall or car accident, once the head is hit, people tend to have concussions and become "vegetative." The treatment of brain damage is a medical problem. According to the latest report, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that amantadine, an old anti-flu virus, has the effect of accelerating the recovery of brain damage.

After a severe brain injury, the patient's brain function recovers slowly, and the doctor will analyze the rehabilitation situation with simple questions and instructions. For example, the patient obeys the doctor's instructions to use a spoon or comb. Joseph et al., a neuropsychological psychologist at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, found that after 4 weeks, 32% of patients taking amantadine were able to do it, compared with only 17% of the placebo group. Furthermore, there were no differences between the two groups of patients with epilepsy, insomnia and muscle stiffness. It is estimated that 1.7 million people in the United States suffer traumatic brain injury each year. About 3/4 are concussions or other minor injuries. According to government figures, there are 275,000 patients hospitalized each year for brain injury and the death toll is 52,000.