my personal edition > neurologic other > news


  E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague

DGDispatch

Memantine + Stable Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor Provides Benefits to Alzheimer's Disease Patients: Presented at AAN

By Jill Stein

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- April 30, 2004 -- Memantine treatment in conjunction with ongoing donepezil therapy is associated with less functional and behavioural deterioration in Alzheimer's disease than donepezil therapy alone, researchers said on April 29^th here at the American Academy of Neurology 56^th Annual Meeting.

Memantine is a low-moderate affinity, uncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that is thought to allow normal physiological activation while blocking prolonged pathological activation of the NMDA receptor -- a factor implicated in the pathology of AD.

Donepezil is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.

Jeffrey Cummings, MD, University of California, Los Angeles, United States reported the results of a 24-week trial, in which 395 patients with moderate to severe AD who were on a stable donepezil regimen were randomised to memantine or placebo.

At enrollment, the mean score on the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) was 10.

Baseline characteristics between the 2 treatment groups were comparable.

Results showed that therapeutic benefits of memantine in this population of patients with moderate to severe AD taking a stable dose of a commonly used acetylcholinesterase inhibitor were observed for functional and behavioural measures.

Function was assessed using the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study – Activities of Daily Living Scale (ADCS-ADL19). Function and behaviour were assessed using the Behavioural Rating Scale for Geriatric Patients (BGP). Behaviour was assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI).

Among the 19 ADCS-ADL19 single-item functional domains, memantine/donepezil treatment resulted in significantly greater functional ability compared to placebo/donepezil for grooming, watching television, being left alone, toileting, and finding belongings.

A statistically significant response in favour of memantine/donepezil treatment was measured on the total NPI score as well as on particular NPI domains: agitation/aggression, irritability/lability, and appetite/eating change.

This study was sponsored by Forest Laboratories, Inc., New York, United States.


[Presentation title: "Functional and Behavioral Effects of Memantine in Alzheimer's Disease. Abstract #P04.107]

E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague

To print, use this version