TOKYO - Japan's Health Ministry is investigating two anti-influenza drugs for possible links to abnormal, sometimes dangerous, behaviour similar to that reported by some patients taking the flu medicine Tamiflu, a news report said Tuesday.
The drugs under review are Relenza and Amantadine, which have been linked to a total of 16 reports of abnormal behaviour, Kyodo News agency said. Relenza was taken in 10 cases; Amantadine in six. Of the six patients who took Amantadine, two later died, the report said, but it was unclear whether the drug was responsible.
Of all 16 cases, 13 patients were aged under 20.
The Health Ministry is investigating the new drugs and possible side effects, the report said. Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.
The report comes after the ministry conducted a similar review of the popular anti-flu medicine Tamiflu. More than 100 mostly young people in Japan have exhibited abnormal, sometimes dangerous, behaviour after taking that drug.
The abnormal behaviour sometimes includes attempts to jump off buildings or an overwhelming desire to hop.
The Swiss manufacturer of Tamiflu, Roche Holding AG, has insisted it is safe and the ministry has not confirmed a causal link between the drug and strange behaviour.
Relenza was launched in Japan in 2000 and Amantadine first began to be prescribed for influenza in 1998, Kyodo said.
The report did not say whether the behaviour exhibited by patients taking Relenza and Amantadine were similar to the side effects shown by those taking Tamiflu. It also did not say whether anyone taking these drugs outside of Japan had suffered similar side effects.
