New help for Alzheimer’s
The first in a new class of drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease can slow progression of the illness in its later stages and also lessen the burden on family, friends and others who assist patients with daily activities such as dressing and bathing, research shows.
The drug, called Memantine, showed few if any side effects in its first major U.S. clinical trial. Patients treated with the drug experienced about half as much decline in their physical and mental conditions as those who received a placebo, scientists reported.
Memantine, a drug made by Merz Pharmaceuticals, was approved in Europe last May for treating patients with advanced Alzheimer’s. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the drug.
The study, led by Dr. Barry Reisberg, a psychiatrist at New York University School of Medicine, involved 252 patients at 32 medical centers. The patients, all with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s and still living at home, received either 20 milligrams of Memantine daily or the placebo.
The study also found that patients taking Memantine needed nearly 46 fewer hours of monthly assistance from caregivers.
Dr. David B. Reuben, a geriatrics expert at UCLA who was not involved in the research, said the reduced burden on caregivers -- amounting to about 11 hours a week -- is an “enormous” benefit. Family and friends who must care for patients with advanced Alzheimer’s frequently suffer from exhaustion or burnout. “What this gives us is another avenue to try to keep people in their homes.”
Reuben said Memantine also could provide a new tool alongside the powerful antipsychotic drugs doctors sometimes use to stop some of the aggression and agitation that often occur as Alzheimer’s patients deteriorate.
Despite the promising findings, researchers still don’t know if the drug’s benefits persist longer than six months.
If approved by the FDA, Memantine would be the first in a new class of drugs prescribed for Alzheimer’s, a disease that affects an estimated 4 million Americans. The existing medications, Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl, useful in mild to moderate stages of the disease, boost levels of a brain-signaling chemical called acetylcholine.
Memantine works by blocking glutamate, which stimulates nerve cells associated with memory and learning. In excessive amounts, glutamate can be toxic to these nerve cells and is also associated with several other neuro-degenerative illnesses, such as Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Reisberg’s study was sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and Merz Pharmaceuticals, the drug’s German manufacturer. Memantine is licensed in this country by Forest Laboratories Inc. of New York.
Another Memantine study, sponsored by Forest and presented last week at the American Academy of Neurology conference in Honolulu, also supports the safety and effectiveness of Memantine. The report showed that when combined with Aricept in moderate to severe Alzheimer’s patients, Memantine also helped to slow the decline.
