Amantadine: an antiviral and antiparkinsonian agent

Amantadine is an antiviral agent that specifically inhibits influenza A virus replication at a micromolar concentration. This drug is also very effective in the treatment of human Parkinson’s disease. Other important clinical applications of this agent have been studied recently, ranging from viral infections, e.g. herpes, herpes zoster neuralgia to granulomatosis and from neuroleptic extrapyramidal movement disease to depression and cocain dependence. Biological and pharmacological activities of amantadine presented in this paper are focused on the explanation of the mechanism of amantadine antiviral and antiparkinsonian effects and on general use of this agent in medicine.