Joseph T Giacino, John Whyte, Emilia Bagiella, Kathleen Kalmar, Nancy Childs, Allen Khademi, Bernd Eifert, David Long, Douglas I Katz, Sooja Cho, Stuart A Yablon, Marianne Luther, Flora M Hammond, Annette Nordenbo, Paul Novak, Walt Mercer, Petra Maurer-Karattup, Mark Sherer
BACKGROUND: Amantadine hydrochloride is one of the most commonly prescribed medications for patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness after traumatic brain injury. Preliminary studies have suggested that amantadine may promote functional recovery. METHODS: We enrolled 184 patients who were in a vegetative or minimally conscious state 4 to 16 weeks after traumatic brain injury and who were receiving inpatient rehabilitation. Patients were randomly assigned to receive amantadine or placebo for 4 weeks and were followed for 2 weeks after the treatment was discontinued...
March 1, 2012: New England Journal of Medicine