A study in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicates that there is good reason for the recent attention surrounding the drug memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. A multi-center study directed by University of Rochester Medical Center faculty concluded that memantine, when taken with the commonly prescribed Alzheimer's drug donepezil, helped moderate to severe Alzheimer's patients maintain or in some cases, improve their memory and other intellectual functions, and helped to preserve activities of daily living during the study period. This represents the first medication approved by the FDA to treat advanced Alzheimer's patients, as well as a new category of medication to treat the disease.

Lead investigator Pierre N. Tariot, M.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, said that the study was significant not only because it validates a new class of drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's, but also because it was the first time positive results have been seen combining two Alzheimer's drugs.

"To find a new medication that can provide substantial benefit to patients at this stage of the disease, either alone or in combination with another Alzheimer's drug, is certainly good news," Tariot said.

Thirty-seven institutions participated in the study between June 11, 2001 and June 3, 2002. The study compared the efficacy and safety of memantine versus placebo (sugar pill) in patients with moderate to severe AD already taking the cholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil. A total of 404 patients were enrolled, and 322 patients (80 percent) completed the clinical trial.

According to Tariot, patients who took the memantine and donepezil versus those on placebo showed statistically significant improvement in cognition, memory, and overall daily functioning.

"Family members tended to say things like, 'Gee, he's more like himself; he participate
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Contact: Germaine Reinhardt
germaine_reinhardt@urmc.rochester.edu
585-275-3676
University of Rochester Medical Center
20-Jan-2004

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