The medicine "Pantocalcin" for children is prescribed quite often. This is a nootropic agent that has anticonvulsant, cerebroprotective, antidysuric and other actions. The drug improves metabolism in tissues and cells, prevents the development of hypoxia. The article will consider the healing properties of the medication Pantocalcin, instructions for children, reviews of parents and specialists.
Pharmacological activity
The spectrum of action of the drug is due to the presence of hopantenic acid in the composition. The drug directly affects the GABAA-receptor-channel complex, enhances the inhibitory processes in GABA-ergic synapses. There is evidence of a direct effect of the drug on the noradrenaline, glutamate, dopamine, serotonin, neurotransmitter systems. Due to the activity of hopantenic acid, glucose metabolism is normalized in the body, in particular, its utilization in the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, hypothalamus, and subcortical ganglia improves. In addition, the exchange of nucleic acids is regulated, anabolic processes are stimulated in the brain cells, including increased synthesis of RNA, protein, ATP.
Hopantenic acid reduces platelet aggregation and, due to this, helps to improve the passage of red blood cells in the microcirculatory bed, improves the oxygen supply of neurons in the brain, and under conditions of hypoxia, reduces the need for oxygen in cells and thus prevents oxygen starvation. The medicine produces a neuroprotective effect, affects the metabolism of tricarboxylic acids, which greatly increases energy metabolism.
Pantocalcin for children is also used because it improves memory, perception, concentration of attention, increases intellectual function, ability to learn and assimilate material. The drug has a sedative (mild) effect, reduces the frequency of cases of spontaneous motor activity, reduces hyperactivity. Hopantenic acid by optimizing the conduct of nerve impulses and lowering motor excitability produces an anticonvulsant effect.
Pharmacodynamics
In the gastrointestinal tract, when taken orally, the drug is absorbed well, in the blood plasma the highest concentration is observed after an hour. The medicine effectively passes through the blood-brain barrier, hopantenic acid also accumulates in the kidneys, liver, stomach walls, and skin. From the body, the drug in its unchanged form is completely excreted within 48 hours, mainly by the kidneys.
Indications for use
Pantokaltsin medication for children shows instructions for use in cognitive impairment arising from neurotic disorders and organic brain damage. For children, the drug is used to treat:
- organic cerebral insufficiency in schizophrenia (together with antidepressants, antipsychotics);
- consequences of traumatic brain injuries and neuroinfections (in combination with other drugs);
- extrapyramidal hyperkinesis in hereditary pathologies of the nervous system (for example, hepatocerebral dystrophy);
- epilepsy, entailing a slowdown in mental processes (together with anticonvulsants);
- urination disorders (daytime urinary incontinence, imperative urges, enuresis, pollakiuria).
In addition, the drug "Pantocalcin" for children, the instruction recommends using with a decrease in physical and mental performance, psycho-emotional overload. The drug is used for mental and intellectual development retardation, clonic forms of stuttering, hyperactivity disorder, which is accompanied by a lack of attention, as well as to improve memorization and perception.
Pantocalcin medicine is prescribed to infants from the first days of life in case of perinatal encephalopathy, neurosis, epilepsy (with small seizures), cerebrosthenic syndrome (oligophrenia), various forms of cerebral palsy, trembling limbs, seizures.
Dosage form. Composition
The drug is available in the form of white flat-cylindrical tablets with a risk and a facet. The active ingredient is calcium hopantenate, in each tablet it is present in an amount of 250 or 500 milligrams. Minor components are calcium stearate, potato starch, magnesium hydroxycarbonate, talc. Tablets are packaged in packs of 10 pieces or polymer cans of 50 pieces. Five packages or one jar are placed in a cardboard box together with the instructions and are put on sale in this form.
Can I use the medication for children under three years of age?
This question worries many parents. The instructions for the drug say that it is not recommended to give babies up to three years. But doctors often prescribe Pantocalcin to children under one year old and even to newborns. How so?
The fact is that this medicine is available only in tablet form, and therefore it is not very convenient to use for babies. This is the only reason why the instruction advises against using Pantocalcin medication for young children. It is preferable for babies to prescribe a similar remedy in the form of a syrup - Pantogam. Nevertheless, pediatric neurologists and pediatricians often use the Pantocalcin preparation in the treatment of newborns. There are reasons for this.
Pantogam syrup, although it is better perceived by babies, is able to cause allergies in the form of skin rashes, as well as Quincke's edema and urticaria, allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis, which is very dangerous for babies. At the same time, the Pantocalcin medication for children (the instruction confirms this) is safe, because it is a hypoallergenic drug.
The effect of the drug on the body of the child. Reviews
The children's body is highly plastic. This also applies to brain cells. For a child, proper protein metabolism in cells is of particular importance. The drug "Pantocalcin" has a multilateral effect on the brain. As already mentioned, it improves metabolism in neurons and thereby restores basic brain functions. As a result, children begin to develop better, learn practical skills and a wide variety of knowledge, their cognitive and intellectual abilities increase.
Also, for the inhibition of the central nervous system, the medication Pantocalcin is prescribed to children. Testimonials from parents whose children were hyperactive and irritated report that after taking the medicine, the children became calmer, their concentration increased, and their coordination improved. Moms and dads note that children begin to study better at school.
Use of the drug for PPNS
In childhood, the most common neurological diseases are perinatal lesions of the nervous system. The word "perinatal" indicates that the lesion occurred in the period from 22 weeks (154 days) of fetal life to 7 days after birth. A variety of factors affect the fetus / child’s body at this time, subsequently determining its development and health.
The most common manifestation of PPNS is perinatal encephalopathy, characterized by a lesion in the form of the smallest foci of the entire brain due to malnutrition. Often, such a pathology occurs against the background of hypoxia - a lack of oxygen supply to the brain, which, in turn, occurs due to circulatory disorders.
Severe disorders in perinatal encephalopathy may occur immediately after birth, or may be absent, and the pathology will proceed unnoticed, but in the future it will still affect the mental development of the baby. Such children are disturbed by headaches, they are lagging behind in mental development, they begin to speak late, and have learning difficulties. Children with this diagnosis are indicated in the form of courses of treatment with Pantocalcin. For children, this medicine is very effective: it improves the condition of the baby by relieving headaches, increasing the ability to master new skills.
The use of the drug for hyperactivity syndrome
If in the prenatal period or infancy any kind of brain micro-damage occurs, the child may develop hyperactivity disorder in the future, accompanied by impaired attention. Such children are characterized by high motor activity, uncontrollable behavior and inability to concentrate on something. As a result, the adaptation of the children in the team is disrupted, they cannot fully master the new knowledge.
To eliminate hyperactivity disorder, neurologists advise giving Pantocalcin to children. Reviews of parents confirm the effectiveness of the drug. Moms note that the children after the course of treatment become more attentive and assiduous, their behavior improves, and adaptation in kindergarten / school is facilitated.
Use of medication for urinary incontinence
Against the background of neurogenic disorders associated with neuromuscular disorders in the bladder, a child may have day and night urinary incontinence. In this case, the medication Pantocalcin will also help. It optimizes the functioning of the bladder and normalizes urination in children.
How to take "Pantocalcin"?
Tablets are drunk after eating, after fifteen to thirty minutes. The daily dose for children is 0.75-3 grams, a single dose is 0.25-0.5 grams. On average, the course of therapy lasts one to four months, in some cases it can be increased to six months. After a three-six-month break, you can conduct a second course of treatment with Pantocalcin. The dosage for children is selected by a specialist depending on the clinical picture. For babies, the tablets are dissolved in a small amount of water.
The medicine, as already noted, has a nootropic effect, so it should be taken in the afternoon and morning (it is not recommended to use tablets after 16 hours). As a rule, for children, based on age, the following daily doses are set: up to one year - 0.5-1 grams, from one year to three years - 1.5-2 grams, from three to fifteen years - 2.5-3 grams.
With urination disorders, a single dose for children is 0.25-0.5 grams, and the daily dose is determined at the rate of 0.025-0.05 grams per kilogram of weight. The therapeutic course is one to three months. Use the drug according to this scheme: start with a minimum dose, gradually increasing it over a period of seven to twelve days, then take a maximum volume over a period of fifteen or forty days, and then gradually lower it over a period of seven to eight days until the medication is completely discontinued.
Side effects Reviews
Doctors say that a medicine almost never causes negative effects, so with full confidence you can give the drug "Pantocalcin" to children. Reviews of parents, however, are not so clear. Some mothers say that their children begin to hurt their heads after taking the medication, drowsiness develops. You can find statements that children complain of tinnitus during treatment with the drug. However, there are very few such reviews. Basically, parents write that the medicine is well tolerated by the children.
Contraindications
You should not give the drug to children who have severe impaired renal function, and to children suffering from hypersensitivity to hopantenic acid, its derivatives or other ingredients present in the composition of the drug.
Interaction with other medicines
Pantocalcin can enhance the activity of other nootropic drugs, as well as central nervous system stimulants and drugs for local anesthesia. In addition, it prolongs the effect of barbiturates. If you use the drug in conjunction with antipsychotics and phenobarbital, the negative effects of the latter will be reduced. The simultaneous use of the drug with the preparations "Xidifon" and "Glycine" mutually enhances the pharmacological properties.
Should I give Pantocalcin to children? Reviews Price
When the doctor prescribes this medication to the child, the parents are usually scared. Many people think that such a medicine is prescribed only for mentally retarded children. It is especially scary, according to mothers, to give the drug to infants. “No matter how this means of harm brings,” they fear. Experienced parents reassure doubting mothers and fathers and write in their reviews that the Pantokaltsin medication is not as scary as it is painted, and, on the contrary, it helped their children to become quicker and more attentive, to cope with stuttering and other disorders. Parents of infants say that after treatment with Pantocalcin, babies have become more sleepy.
There are also negative reviews. So, some mothers write that their children, against the background of drug treatment, became even more excited and distracted. But such statements are extremely few, and they are lost in a huge number of positive opinions. Therefore, do not be afraid to give Pantocalcin medicine to children. The price of a medicine for packing tablets (50 pieces), each containing 250 milligrams of calcium hopantenate, averages 202-219 rubles, and 500 milligrams of calcium hopantenate - 320-350 rubles.