Table 2

Severity of side effects†

Side effect	Baseline		Month 1		Months 2–3		Months 4–6
Side effect	Placebo	Amantadine	Placebo	Amantadine	Placebo	Amantadine	Placebo	Amantadine
†Severity scored on a scale from 0 (none) to 5 (severe), and results are expressed as mean (SD).
p<0.05, p<0.01, **p<0.001 compared with baseline. There were no significant differences between amantadine and placebo at different time intervals. There were no significant changes in side effects after month 1 in both groups.
Fatigue	1.52 (1.48)	1.21 (1.41)	1.99 (1.42)	2.09 (1.35)***	2.09 (1.47)*	2.14 (1.24)***	1.97 (1.59)	1.94 (1.28)**
Anorexia	0.06 (0.4)	0.13 (0.53)	0.46 (0.93)**	0.67 (1.02)***	0.53 (1.06)***	0.5 (0.79)**	0.41 (0.88)**	0.29 (0.7)
Lack of exercise tolerance	0.76 (1.38)	0.81 (1.34)	0.97 (1.38)	1.37 (1.55)*	1.30 (1.61)*	1.47 (1.48)*	1.4 (1.67)*	1.52 (1.53)**
Nausea	0.29 (0.85)	0.23 (0.69)	0.82 (1.08)**	0.81 (1.08)***	0.64 (0.98)*	0.71 (0.94)**	0.46 (0.96)	0.57 (0.93)*
Malaise	0.75 (1.46)	0.44 (1)	1.02 (1.25)	1.16 (1.37)***	1.05 (1.41)	1.15 (1.37)**	1.05 (1.56)	1.01 (1.50)*
Itching	0.63 (1.25)	0.53 (0.97)	0.69 (1.09)	0.92 (1.14)*	0.95 (1.24)	1.12 (1.19)**	1.11 (1.46)	1.44 (1.46)***
Weight loss	0.11 (0.49)	0.08 (0.34)	0.27 (0.51)*	0.39 (0.58)***	0.39 (0.71)**	0.36 (0.53)***	0.36 (0.61)*	0.36 (0.61)**
Depression	0.33 (0.77)	0.31 (0.71)	0.71 (1.1)*	0.84 (1.17)**	0.8 (1.18)**	0.91 (1.14)***	0.95 (1.26)**	0.68 (1.05)*
Insomnia	0.96 (1.47)	0.54 (1.14)	1.05 (1.41)	1.42 (1.4)***	1.18 (1.27)	1.32 (1.31)***	1.41 (1.58)	1.47 (1.33)***
Dizziness	0.09 (0.29)	0.21 (0.69)	0.58 (0.92)***	0.68 (1.05)**	0.63 (1.08)***	0.78 (1.02)***	0.38 (0.79)**	0.61 (0.94)*
Blurred vision	0.48 (0.99)	0.36 (0.89)	0.47 (0.94)	0.6 (1.02)	0.63 (1.2)	0.61 (0.96)	0.55 (1.12)	0.49 (1.03)
Nervousness	0.54 (1.02)	0.51 (1.06)	0.51 (0.89)	0.8 (1.15)	0.66 (0.95)	0.82 (1.23)	0.78 (1.21)	0.66 (1.23)
Dry mouth	0.86 (1.48)	0.57 (1.26)	1.29 (1.52)	1.45 (1.45)***	1.5 (1.65)*	1.58 (1.63)***	1.47 (1.62)*	1.63 (1.51)***