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Memantine in patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind,

Adam L Boxer1, David S Knopman, Daniel I Kaufer

  • 1Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. aboxer@memory.ucsf.edu

The Lancet. Neurology
|January 8, 2013
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Memantine did not improve symptoms in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTD) patients over 26 weeks. This study found no evidence to support memantine use for FTD treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Trials
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases

Background:

  • Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTD) is a group of disorders characterized by progressive behavioral or language changes.
  • Memantine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, has been explored off-label for FTD symptom management.
  • Previous open-label studies suggested transient benefits on neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of memantine in treating patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTD).
  • To assess the impact of memantine on neuropsychiatric symptoms and global clinical impression in FTD patients.

Main Methods:

  • A 26-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 81 patients meeting Neary criteria for FTD.
  • Participants received either 20 mg memantine daily or a matching placebo.
  • Primary endpoints included changes in the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) scores.

Main Results:

  • Memantine treatment showed no significant difference compared to placebo in NPI or CGIC scores after 26 weeks.
  • Enrollment was lower than planned due to patient preference for off-label memantine or cholinesterase inhibitor use.
  • Cognitive adverse events were more frequent in the memantine group.

Conclusions:

  • Memantine treatment demonstrated no clinical benefit for patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTD).
  • The findings do not support the use of memantine as a therapeutic agent for FTD.

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