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Memantine, the first of a new class of medications for Alzheimer’s disease patients, slows symptomatic cognitive decline when used in combination with a more common dementia drug, according to a study published in the Jan. 21 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. The report is good news for Alzheimer’s disease patients with moderate to severe disease, according to Dr. Martin Farlow, professor of neurology at the IU School of Medicine and one of the study’s authors.
“This is the first and only medication approved for treatment of patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease,” said Farlow. “The results are significant because it is the first to show a positive effect in patients when treatments with different pharmacological mechanisms are used in combination.” Memantine was tested at 37 sites in the U.S., in combination with donepezil, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor commonly used for patients with mild to moderate stages of disease. The IU Alzheimer’s Disease Center, where Farlow is an associate director, was one of those sites. The 404 study participants selected at random to receive increasing doses of memantine, starting with five milligrams a day and increasing to 20 milligrams a day, or a placebo. Eighty percent of the participants completed the study.
Results indicated that cognitive function, ability to perform activities of daily living and behavior were significantly improved in the group receiving memantine compared to those receiving placebo.
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