New drug may slow Alzheimer's course

Anticipation of a dramatic increase in the numbers of Americans with Alzheimer's disease continues to propel research on treatment and prevention.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. May 12, 2003.

Washington -- A new drug that takes a different approach in combating Alzheimer's disease is showing promise at slowing decline in mental functioning -- a development researchers hope will improve the quality of life for people in the latter stages of the disease.

The drug, memantine, appears to regulate glutamate, one of the brain's specialized messenger chemicals that affects the activity of several different types of receptors. At normal concentrations, glutamate plays an essential role in learning and memory. However, its concentration often spikes or diminishes as a result of Alzheimer's. The hope is that by evening out this chemical's levels, the drug will slow the decline of memory functions, thus allowing people to care for themselves longer and reducing the caregiver burden.

Available treatments for Alzheimer's that have proven effective at treating mild to moderate stages of the disease are aimed at a different chemical system in the brain, the cholinergic system.

Memantine has been approved for use in Germany for more than 10 years. The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing its safety and efficacy for possible U.S. sale by Forest Laboratories Inc. Approval could occur by this fall.

Findings from a randomized, double-blind study of the drug in 252 patients were published in the April 3 New England Journal of Medicine. Patients who took memantine seemed to decline about half as much during the six-month trial as would ordinarily be expected, said Barry Reisberg, MD, professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, who led the study.