Parkinson’s Drug Helps Speed Recovery After Brain Trauma, Researchers Say

By Meg Tirrell - Thu Mar 01 05:00:00 GMT 2012

A drug for Parkinsons disease accelerated the ability of patients with severe brain injuries to open their eyes and speak, providing what researchers said is the first evidence that a medical treatment might help speed head trauma recovery.

Patients taking the medicine, amantadine, for four weeks regained cognitive functioning faster than those on a placebo, according to the 184-patient study published online yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The rate of recovery declined in two weeks after treatment and its unknown whether the drug aided long-term improvement.

Traumatic brain injuries are the most common cause of death and disability for people ages 15 to 30, the researchers said. While amantadine is often prescribed for patients in vegetative or minimally conscious states after such injuries, little clinical research has been done on its safety and efficacy, said study author Joseph Giacino, director of rehabilitation neuropsychology at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.

Theres no question in my mind this is now finally some cause for optimism in a patient population that has historically been viewed as beyond help and, frankly, hopeless, said Giacino, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said in a telephone interview.

The study tested patients who were in inpatient rehabilitation care after suffering a traumatic brain injury four to 16 weeks previously. Because the study was just six weeks long, it didnt show whether amantadine, available as a generic drug, would continue to help patients recover over longer periods, the authors said.

How Helpful?

Our study leaves an important question open: Do we help get people to their same ultimate destination on a faster track, or do we change their ultimate destination? said John Whyte, director of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in Philadelphia and a study author, in a telephone interview. Even if its the former, he said, we shouldnt trivialize that. Psychosocially, if you are a family waiting for your family member to regain function and interact with you, it will make a lot of difference whether you have to wait a long time or a short time.

Increasing cost restraints on health care also make speedier recoveries more important, the authors wrote.

Amantadine helped patients regain behavioral abilities such as consistently following commands and recognizing objects faster in four weeks than those taking a placebo, the study found.

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Parkinson’s Drug Helps Speed Recovery After Brain Trauma, Researchers Say