New drug improves outcomes when added to existing therapy for Alzheimer...( The drug memantine lessens the decline ...),Health

The drug memantine lessens the decline in cognition and activities of daily living for patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease (AD) who are also receiving donepezil (another drug used to treat AD), according to a new study in the January 21 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Alzheimer disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline, impaired performance of activities of daily living, and behavioral and psychiatric signs and symptoms, according to background information in the article. Alzheimer disease affects approximately 4.5 million people in the United States. Memantine is the first member of a new class of medications (a low-to-moderate-affinity, uncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate [NMDA] receptor antagonist) showing clinical benefit and good tolerability in AD patients. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October 2003 for the treatment of Alzheimer disease.

Pierre N. Tariot, M.D., from the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, N.Y., and colleagues compared the efficacy and safety of memantine versus placebo (sugar pill) in patients with moderate to severe AD already receiving stable treatments with another AD drug, donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor. The study was conducted at 37 U.S. sites between June 11, 2001 and June 3, 2002. The 404 participants were randomized to receive memantine (starting dose 5 milligrams/day, increased to 20 mg/d, n=203) or placebo (n=201) for 24 weeks. A total of 322 patients (80 percent) completed the clinical trial. Cognitive, functional, and global outcome measures were obtained at the start of the study (baseline), and at the end of weeks 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24. The researchers looked at the change from baseline on the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB), a measure of cognition, such as memory, orientation, language, and attention, and in activities of daily living (such as bathing and dressing).
'"/>

Contact: Germaine Reinhardt
585-275-6517
JAMA and Archives Journals
20-Jan-2004

Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Hormonal treatment improves survival in high-risk prostate cancer patients
2. Growth hormone treatment improves symptoms of metabolic disorder in postmenopausal women
3. New substance that improves the photodetection of bladder cancer gains market approval
4. Most advanced CT scanner improves imaging of heart, avoids need for surgical inspection
5. Columbia study finds hemophilia therapy dramatically improves outcomes for bleeding stroke
6. New test improves detection of bladder cancer
7. Adding radiation therapy to chemotherapy improves survival in patients with high-risk breast cancer
8. Care of rural stroke patients improves with telephone support
9. Acupuncture relieves pain and improves function in knee osteoarthritis
10. Daily social/physical activity improves sleep and cognition in the elderly
11. Stanford study finds new method improves chemotherapy survival in mice