title: A 6-month, open-label study of memantine in patients with frontotemporal dementia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate safety and effects on cognition and behavior of memantine 20 mg/day in the treatment of patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a single-center, 6-month, open, uncontrolled study. Sixteen outpatients with a diagnosis of FTD were enrolled.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On the CIBIC plus 26 weeks after baseline four of the 16 patients were minimally improved, four were unchanged, seven were minimally worse and one patient was moderately worse. Neither the Neuropsychiatric Inventory nor the Frontal Behavioral Inventory demonstrated statistically significant differences in behavior between baseline and final visit. There was an increase in the total Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale score, reflecting a decline in cognitive performance. Executive functions as well as activities of daily living and extrapyramidal motor symptoms (EPMS) remained unchanged during the trial.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of patients was small, so that the evidence given by statistical tests is limited. Thus, the present study can only show trends regarding drug effects. As memantine is well-tolerated, further randomized and controlled studies should be conducted to evaluate drug efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. janine.diehl@lrz.tum.de
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Diehl-Schmid
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Förstl
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Perneczky
authors.forename: Corina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pohl
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D003704:Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D015259:Dopamine Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004522:Educational Status; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008559:Memantine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D015259:Dopamine Agents; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D008559:Memantine