Abstract
AMANTADINE hydrochloride (1-adamantanamine hydro-chloride, Symmetrel) is an antiviral agent which prevents certain viruses from penetrating cells1–3. In addition, this drug is also effective in relieving clinical symptoms shown in parkinsonism4–8 this action of amantadine may depend on its capacity to increase the synthesis and release of dopamine from dopaminergic cells of the basal ganglia9,10. To obtain additional evidence which might aid in explaining these remarkably diverse effects of amantadine, we used single-cell electrophysiological techniques to study its action on junctional and extrajunctional membranes. Our results show that amantadine, in clinically effective concentrations, rapidly inhibits neuromuscular transmission, and when applied over a longer period of time the drug also exerts a substantial effect on the conductile membranes of muscle fibres.
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NASTUK, W., Su, P. & DOUBILET, P. Anticholinergic and membrane activities of amantadine in neuromuscular transmission. Nature 264, 76–79 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/264076a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/264076a0
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