Amantadine as antiparkinsonian and antiviral agent and memantine as antispastic agent have been used clinically for many years. Initially, a concept of dopaminergic mode of their action predominated, mainly due to lack of alternatives. However, recently it has been established that both are antagonists of the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) glutamate receptor. The authors present here a new views on the mechanisms of their action and recent clinical data indicating that their therapeutic use can be much broader than originally expected.
In order to determine whether the occurrence of extrapyramidal symptoms may affect how we estimate the intensification of depressive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia, 66 inpatients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia (according to the criteria DSM-III-R and ICD-10) were examined with the use of the scales: CDS, BDI, BPRS, SANS and SAS. No relationships have been observed between the level of extrapyramidal symptoms and self-rating of depression, with the existence of few correlations with observer report scales. The most numerous relationships were recorded with the symptoms of the subscales Apathy/Avolition and Affective Flattening and extrapyramidal symptoms.