title: Efficacy of memantine hydrochloride once-daily in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In people with moderate-to-severe dementia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) memantine provides some clinical benefits. It is commonly administered twice daily at a maximum dose of 20 mg. To improve medication adherence, convenience of use and to enable a higher daily dose, a 28 mg, extended-release formulation of memantine has been developed.
  
  
  METHODS
  We review the results of a Phase III randomized and controlled trial of memantine extended release as an add-on treatment and compared the findings with a similarly designed previous trial evaluating the immediate release (IR) form.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Memantine extended release produced minor benefits on cognitive ability, including verbal fluency, behavioral problems and global clinical assessment. There was no difference between the treatment groups on activities of daily living. The observed effects were not larger than those of the IR formulation tested in a similar setting. The lack of impact on activities of daily living suggests that the small improvements in cognition and behavior did not translate into clinically important changes. In conclusion, there is no convincing evidence that the novel once-daily formulation of memantine represents a significant progress in the clinical management of AD that would justify additional treatment costs.
authors.affiliation: Technische Universität München, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , Ismaninger Strasse 22, D-81675 Munich , Germany alexander.kurz@lrz.tum.de.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurz
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grimmer
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008559:Memantine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D008559:Memantine
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Phase III; efficacy; extended release; memantine; randomized controlled trial