Although the drug, Amantadine, was originally used to cure the flu during the 1960s, it is now used for other purposes as well. It is used to improve the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and a very new, recent study showed that is also speeds the recovery of severe brain injuries. This new study completely amazed scientists. The experiment to determine if Amantadine can quicken the process of recovery for brain damages involved 184 patients who suffered from awful brain damages due to falls and car crashes. Approximately a third of these patients were in a vegetative state. The rest of the patients were minimally conscious. Some were given the drug; meanwhile, others were given a placebo for four weeks. They recovered within one to four months from their brain injuries. Both groups made significant improvements. Even though each group did well, the patients that took Amantadine recovered quicker. Some significant improvements were the ability to give yes and no answers to questions, obey commands, and use a spoon or hairbrush. Seventeen percent of the people who received Amantadine were still barely conscious, versus thirty-two percent of the people who took the placebo. Two weeks after this experiment, the recovery of both groups of patients was the same. Despite this observation, the drug still quickened the speed of recovery for people who had fallen badly or have been in devastating car crashes. Amantadine speeds up the recovery for brain injuries caused by a fall or a car crash, but scientists are not completely sure if it works on people who have experienced strokes. Neurologist, Joseph Giacino, believes that Amantadine could also speed up the recovery of gunshot wounds and strokes (but this theory has not been proven yet).
If Amantadine actually works, it can impact so many people who suffer everyday with severe brain damages. However, if it really does not work, it still opens the door to more research, experiments, and progress.
This article is really educational because it updates people with one theory that is being studied in the world of neurology today. This article was very detailed, which made it very easy to understand. The article told the reader what improvements took place with the people who took the drug. In addition, it also clearly explained the experiment and its outcomes done by neurologist, Joseph Giacino, and his 184 patients with the drug, Amantadine, versus the placebo. Even though this was quite well-written, it could have talked a little bit more about the Parkinson side of the drug, so people could compare and see if it is more useful towards that disease instead of head and stroke injuries. Also, neurologists could formally test Amantadine to determine whether or not it can speed up the recovery process for people with brain damages from strokes or just birth defects. Amantadine should continue to be tested for the symptoms it has, and how to make it safer and more useful.
My peer, Maria Kapsis, did a great job reviewing the article “Flu Drug Amantidine may boost recovery from Severe Brain Damages” from CBS News. This article examines the experiment done by doctors to see if the drug Amantidine, which was previously used to cure the cold in the 1960’s, can actually help boost recovery rates of those who’ve suffered brain damages from car accidents or falls. I did like how Maria explained the experiment clearly to show what type of effect the medicine had on the patients. I also liked how she mentioned some brain diseases that could be helped from the drug Amantidine, such as Parkinson’s. Maria explained the experiment step by step and really made it clear for me to understand. Neurology can really be difficult for readers to grasp, but Maria did this to the best of her ability and it paid off.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Maria did a fine job, I do have some suggestions for her. When Maria mentioned the percentages of how many patients were positively affected by the drug, I would have like to know what happened to the other 45% of the patients. If their brain injury didn’t make progress, did the drug make it worse or were they not making progress at all. Although she mentioned that the drug is now used to help people with Parkinson’s, I would have liked if she gave me more of a background of how it is doing in experiments with Parkinson’s patients. Is it speeding up their recovery?
I enjoyed reading this article because I never knew that something like a common flu drug could impact neurology. It amazes me that something like that could really make a difference in the world of science and help our society in the future of health care. It’s helpful to the world because Parkinson’s is a growing brain injury and this could hugely affect the study of the brain. Overall I think Maria did a great job reviewing the article “Flu Drug Amantidine may boost recovery from Severe Brain Damages”.
My classmate Maria Kapsis did a fantastic job of summarizing and giving her opinion on the article "Flu Drug Amantadine May Boost Recovery From Severe Brain Damages". The Article summarized the findings of a long test performed on brain damage patients using the drug Amantadine, previously known for treating the flu in the 60s. Maria's summary was fantastic because of it's clarity and conciseness. Secondly, Maria had a great point when she stated that, "If Amantadine actually works, it can impact so many people who suffer...if it really does not work, it still opens the door to more research, experiments, and progress", and it was easy to appreciate the optimism present in her article on the findings. Lastly, Maria included a ton of information on the drug, it's uses, and what specialists such as neurologists had to say about it, providing a healthy dose of information and great amount of variety.
ReplyDeleteThough her summary was excellent, there were a couple things she could have done to improve upon her summary. If she had found some information on whether or not people taking the drug were still have great results, and if they were recovering from their battles, it would have been nice. Lastly, Maria ends on a somewhat abrupt note. Had she considered for a couple sentences longer what can be done with a drug like Amantadine, and talked about it, it would have been more meaningful.
I was really astounded that an old drug from the 1960s made to fight the flu, was capable of giving people with brain damage another chance, and it was heartening to see good results. Neurological damage is a huge deal, and can ruin someone's life, if bad enough. The changes in the industry from a drug like Amantadine could be phenomenal, and I'm excited to hear more. In summary, Maria did a fantastic job discussing the article, talking about Amantadine, and sharing her thoughts on future developments in neurology.
Maria Kapsis did a great job at reviewing ‘Flu Drug Amantadine may boost recovery from severe brain injuries.’ It was great that she did explain thee article so clearly and how amantadine could boost recovery from fatal injuries. I also especially like the fact on how she related the article to daily life and for people who take this drug, so that they can be more aware of the effects of it and the cures of it.
ReplyDeleteTo improve this review I think that Maria should have included he views and thought on the article. It would have also been interesting to see if any of Parkinson’s one who has used this and suffered from to see if they recovered.
It was a great article to read this article because I didn’t not realize how big neurological damage is a problem and the results of it, but at the same time it is great that Amantadine could really help this.