title: The N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist memantine retards progression of Huntington's disease.
abstract: According to the excitotoxicity hypothesis, neurotoxicity due to glutamate is regarded as potential factor in the progredient neurodegeneration of Huntington's disease (HD). Memantine, as a glutamate receptor antagonist, should counteract this mechanism. Its effectiveness (up to 30 mg/day) with regard to retardation of progression was thus examined in 27 HD patients in a two year, open and multicentre trial. The results suggest that memantine treatment of HD may be useful in terms of retardation of the progression of the disorder.
authors.affiliation: District Hospital, Taufkirchen/Vils, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beister
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dose
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weindl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gerlach
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018450:Disease Progression; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008559:Memantine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D008559:Memantine