Pantogam is a nootropic drug. It is prescribed for children and adults in order to improve cognitive abilities, speed of thinking, memory. It has been used in neurological practice for a long time, over the years, doctors have thoroughly studied the effect and possible side effects of the drug. From this article you will learn about what Pantogam is prescribed for children, reviews of parents and doctors about the effect of this drug.
Release form and pharmacokinetics of the drug
Pantogam is available in two forms: these are tablets of 250 mg and 500 mg and syrup with a sweet taste with an active substance concentration of 10%.
The main effect of this drug is to increase the resistance of the brain to oxygen starvation and reduce the effects of toxic substances on it. It has an anticonvulsant, sedative, mild sedative effect. It is able to stimulate the desire to learn, learn something new, affects the vocabulary (it is able to use the brain areas responsible for the development of speech).
The drug began to be used in neurological practice since 1979. Since then, pharmacists and neuropathologists have managed to study the effect, possible side effects and drug interaction of the drug quite well. To this day, this nootropic remains one of the most effective and widely prescribed.
Indications for use
The drug is used mainly in neurology and sometimes in psychiatry. Regardless of the scope, this medicine is mostly positive.
The instruction for Pantogam tablets for children (250 mg) reports that the drug is effective for the treatment of the following diseases and conditions:
- violations of the basic functions of the brain - memory, intelligence, speech, attention;
- consequences of organic brain damage due to hypoxia or traumatic brain injury, neuroinfections;
- cerebrovascular accident due to changes in blood vessels;
- impaired motor activity due to hepatolenticular degeneration, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases;
- extrapyramidal disorders during treatment with antipsychotic drugs;
- a period of high mental and physical stress on the body;
- problems with bowel and bladder emptying of a neurogenic nature.
The dosage of the drug is 250 mg and 500 mg is not specific, does not divide the drug into "baby" or "adult". But people over eighteen years of age are prescribed quite high dosages of Pantogam (1-1.5 grams per day), so there is no need to buy a drug of obviously low concentration. And when treating children, it is inconvenient to cut a 500 mg tablet - it is easier to purchase a 250 mg drug.
Therefore, for the treatment of children, Pantogam is prescribed either in the form of a syrup or in the form of tablets 250 mg.
Recommended Dosages
Principles of dosing the drug:
- Adults are allowed at a time to take the amount of the drug, equal to 0.5-1 grams of the active substance. Three to four such receptions are needed per day. The total duration of the course of therapy is from one to four months, depending on the diagnosis and course of the disease.
- Children from five years of age and older can take pills. A single dose of the drug is 0.25-0.5 grams. Three to four doses are needed per day. The exact amount of the drug is prescribed by the attending physician based on the diagnosis and general condition of the child.
- Treatment of extrapyramidal disorders in children caused by the use of antipsychotics - 0.25 grams three to four times a day. As a rule, neuropathologists and psychiatrists prescribe to take Pantogam on an empty stomach, ten to twenty minutes before eating.
- In case of nervous tics, children are prescribed 0.25-0.5 grams three to six times a day. As a rule, if the course of the disease is complicated by phobias and sleep problems, the doctor prescribes a higher dosage. If the problem is only nervous tics, up to a sufficient dosage is 0.25 grams.
- For other pathologies, Pantogam is prescribed according to an increasing scheme and taking into account the age of the child. For ten to twenty days there is an increase in dose. Then, for about a month, the maximum allowable dose is taken in accordance with the age of the child, after which it gradually decreases over the course of ten to twenty days until it is completely canceled. Such a smooth scheme allows the child’s body to adapt to the nootropic and avoid side effects.
- Pantogam syrup for children (instructions and reviews report the safety of this product for babies) from one to five years, 2.5-5 ml is prescribed at a time. The total duration of therapy is usually from one month to four.
Feasibility of using tablets to treat children
A few decades ago in neurology there was debate about how appropriate it is to use nootropics and, in particular, Pantogam for treating children. Studies have shown that almost all children at the beginning of admission do not respond as expected: hyperactivity develops, some inadequacy, speech can become even worse. But after within a week the body adapts to the action of the nootropic, the situation with behavior, speech, cognitive abilities and mental state is leveled.
Reviews about Pantogam for Komarovsky’s children (a famous pediatrician) confirm that in some cases the drug is effective. For example, if a child falls into new conditions (a new school, a new kindergarten, the death of a relative or beloved animal), then stress is inevitable, and competent doses of nootropics will help smooth out its consequences. Reviews about Pantogam for children from Komarovsky are not always unambiguous: in some cases, he strongly opposes the prescription of the drug for children under three years of age.
In pediatric neurology and psychiatry, Pantogam has proven effective in the following diseases:
- mental retardation;
- retardation of mental and speech development;
- cerebral palsy;
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder;
- various neurosis-like conditions accompanied by stuttering, enuresis;
- perinatal encephalopathy.
What side effects can cause
Reviews of Pantogam tablets for children report that the main reason for parental dissatisfaction with the drug is side effects when taking it.
Most often, they reach such strength and intensity that parents give up and simply cancel the pill, interrupting the course. This occurs mainly due to improperly prescribed dosage. The doctor should consider not only the age of the child, but also weight. For example, for a six-year-old girl weighing 28 kg, the dosage should be less than for a four-year-old boy weighing 35 kg. Also, when appointing, you need to take into account all the nuances of the course of the disease, the sensitivity of the child to hopantenic acid, and the use of other drugs.
Reviews of Pantogam tablets for children report that it is possible to develop the following side effects (especially in the first week or two):
- hyperactivity and motor anxiety, disinhibition: the child (even if he was previously calm) starts running, jumping, screaming, laughing out loud and, on the whole, making an impression not quite adequate;
- sleep problems: it’s not easy for a child to fall asleep, he can also wake up in the middle of the night and then fall asleep in the daytime in the most inappropriate places for this;
- in rare cases, the gastrointestinal tract may develop pain and discomfort in the epigastric region, digestive upset, diarrhea;
- increased anxiety, irritability, tearfulness;
- constant laughter, tears, tantrums for no reason.
Such an impressive list of side effects often stops parents from starting treatment. In some cases, this is the right step, since Pantogam, although it is a well-studied drug and does not have any far-reaching consequences, is nevertheless a psychotropic drug and should not be given to a child without special need.
Contraindications to taking Pantogama
There is a list of absolute contraindications in which the drug is prohibited in any dosage:
- chronic liver disease;
- chronic renal failure;
- intolerance to hopantenic acid;
- acute psychotic conditions.
With epilepsy, you should be very careful with the reception and carefully consult with a neurologist and psychiatrist about the dosage. In some cases, taking Pantogam complicates the course, provoking frequent seizures and exacerbation of the condition.
It is forbidden to prescribe a dosage to parents for their children. Only an experienced neuropathologist or psychiatrist can recommend the optimal dose and overall duration of therapy. Otherwise, parents should not be surprised at the side effects that the drug can provoke.
Pantogam reviews for children with mental retardation
It is necessary to distinguish between a delay in mental development and a delay in speech development. At the first, the child behaves inappropriately to his age, does not feel constrained, does not realize many dangers. And the delay in speech development is a discrepancy between vocabulary and age. There is a mixed form - a delay in psycho-speech development, when the child falls behind in both directions. This diagnosis is usually made up to five years inclusive, and then they are diagnosed with autism, or mental retardation, or general speech underdevelopment.
Reviews about the "Pantogame" for children with a delay in the development of the psyche are different. Most parents noted a deterioration in general condition and behavior in the first two weeks of admission: the child became very moody, hyperactive, could start laughing or cry for no reason. After about two weeks, these symptoms disappeared, and the patient either began to behave more adequately, or remained at the same stage of development.
Taking pills for speech retardation
Reviews of "Pantogam" for children with delayed speech development are different, more often they are positive feedback. But there are many negative ones: the parents were dissatisfied with the fact that the drug caused side effects - the child became naughty, uncontrollable, capricious, tearful, hyperactive.
Reviews of Pantogam for children with delayed speech development note that the vocabulary begins to replenish around the third week of admission. The child better remembers new words and phrases, actively uses new speech skills in a playful way. At the same time, social interaction improves - the patient becomes more open to the world, since speech plays an important role in the child's self-awareness as part of society.
Reviews about Pantogam for children with mental retardation are also different. In children with mental retardation, the drug, as a rule, almost does not cause side effects, they tolerate it well. At the same time, the cognitive functions of such children are really improving: it becomes easier for them to learn, they are easier to learn new material. Rare parents of children with mental retardation were dissatisfied with the action of Pantogam. This is mainly due to the fact that hopantenic acid caused the manifestation of individual intolerance in the child.
There are various reviews of Pantogam for children with stuttering and general speech underdevelopment: tablets helped someone move the child’s condition from a dead point. Taking the drug was exactly the impetus that the brain lacked in order to begin to absorb new information.
Pantogam reviews for children with early childhood autism and schizophrenia
Babies who have been diagnosed with early childhood autism (RDA) are also prescribed the Pantogama tablet form. This is a very difficult psychiatric diagnosis.
The Pantogama reception is fundamentally incapable of turning the tide of autism and its developmental path. However, many parents left positive reviews about Pantogam for children with RDA. It was noted that in the second week of admission, children began to better imitate the articulation of adults. Non-speaking autists even uttered their first monosyllabic words precisely against the background of taking Pantogam tablets. Alas, the joy of parents is overshadowed by the fact that after the drug is discontinued, the speech development of the child, as a rule, rolls back, and the acquired phrases go away.
For the treatment of RDA, psychiatrists often prescribe Pantogam tablets in conjunction with tranquilizers or mild antipsychotics (for example, Sonapax). This helps to avoid the development of hyperactivity from nootropics, which is especially pronounced in children with autistic features. They can laugh, spin for no reason, stereotypy intensifies (they can roll up eyeballs, grin their teeth, and imitate nervous tics).
Almost all nootropics have such an effect on autism. In order to protect parents from such an exacerbation, tranquilizers are prescribed in parallel, which have a mild sedative effect, due to which the child becomes not so excited.
Pills or syrup: what to choose?
Many parents think after consulting with a doctor about which form of the drug to choose. Neuropathologists and psychiatrists often make prescriptions for syrup and tablets, leaving the choice to parents.
Reviews about Pantogam tablets for children (we reviewed the instructions for use) are described above. As is clear from the information received, there is no difference between the forms of release of the drug. If the child does not take the pills and it is impossible to persuade him to drink them, you will have to buy syrup. It will cost more, since its consumption is much higher than the consumption of tablets. But the syrup has a sweet taste, and all children take it with pleasure.