Is Rimantadine the new hope against the influenza virus?
During winter, the high season of the influenza virus epidemic, many people experience symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing. Influenza patients have a rapid onset and severe symptoms that can cause headaches, muscle weakness, and loss of appetite. For the elderly, children, pregnant women, or people with underlying illnesses, influenza can lead to severe pneumonia and even death. In the face of the influenza virus besides exercising and strengthening our immunity, taking medication is also the primary way we can fight against the influenza virus. According to the latest scientific research, a drug called Rimantadine may bring us new surprises in the treatment of influenza. Let’s introduce you to this new drug, Rimantadine.
What is Rimantadine?
Rimantadine, also known as flumadine or roflual, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as monoalkyl amines. These are organic compounds that contain primary aliphatic amine groups. Rimantadine has been detected in various biological fluids, such as urine and blood. In cells, Rimantadine is mainly located in the cell membrane.
Chemical properties of Rimantadine
Rimantadine is an alpha-methyl derivative of the cyclic amine Rimantadine with antiviral activity. Rimantadine exists in solid form and is considered to be virtually insoluble in water, and relatively neutral.1-Carboxyadamantanone is reduced with sodium borohydride to produce racemic hydroxy acids. An excess of methyllithium is added to produce methyl ketone, which produces the amine group when reduced with lithium aluminum hydride.
Pharmacodynamics of Rimantadine
Rimantadine is a cyclic amine, a synthetic antiviral drug derivative of adamantane, as is the similar drug adamantane. Rimantadine inhibits in vitro replication of all three antigenic subtypes (H1N1, H2H2, and H3N2) of the influenza A virus isolated from humans. Rimantadine has little activity against influenza B Rimantadine does not appear to interfere with the immunogenicity of inactivated influenza A vaccine.
Rimantadine works by inhibiting a viral protein called M2, which usually mediates the transport of acidic ions across the influenza virus capsid. Acidic ions contribute to the lysis of the viral capsid, which allows the release of viral RNA into the cytoplasm of infected cells. Thus, by blocking M2, Rimantadine blocks the uncoating of the virus, breaking the cycle of viral replication and infection. In addition, similar to Rimantadine, Rimantadine can act during viral replication to inhibit the assembly of influenza viruses. Rimantadine-resistant strains of influenza A viruses have been isolated; however, these strains do not appear to be more virulent relative to Rimantadine-sensitive viruses.
The medical potential of Rimantadine
Rimantadine is an antipyretic and belongs to the class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It has been shown to suppress inflammatory responses by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis and reducing the accumulation of leukocytes in inflamed tissues. Rimantadine has been used to treat infectious diseases and influenza, including pandemic influenza.
Scientists at Benchchem are investigating Rimantadine as a potential antiviral drug to combat HIV, SARS, and influenza A viruses. The drug was found to inhibit viral replication by blocking viral binding to host cells and interfering with the synthesis of viral proteins. The drug may be active against certain strains of influenza viruses resistant to other antiviral drugs.
Influenza viruses have plagued humanity for years, and many drugs have been developed to treat them. The discovery of Rimantadine will bring us new surprises.
