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Memantine in patients with Parkinson's disease dementia or dementia with Lewy bodies: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, trial

in
Publisher: 
The Lancet Neurology
Author: 
Dag Aarsland MD, Clive Ballard MD, Zuzana Walker MD, Fredrik Bostrom MD, Guido Alves MD, Katja Kossakowski BSc Iracema Leroi MD, Francisco Pozo-Rodriguez MD, Lennart Minthon MD, Elisabet Londos MD
Date published: 
3 July, 2009
Region: 
International

Publication type: 
research
Publication link: 
Memantine in patients with Parkinson's disease dementia or dementia with Lewy bodies: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, trial
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Background
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) are common forms of dementia that substantially affect quality of life. Currently, the only treatment licensed for PDD is rivastigmine, and there are no licensed treatments for DLB. We aimed to test the safety and efficacy of the N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist memantine in patients with PDD or DLB.

Findings
72 patients with PDD or DLB were randomly assigned and started treatment: 34 with memantine and 38 with placebo. 56 (78%) completed the study. All withdrawals were owing to adverse events, but the proportion of withdrawals was similar in both groups. At week 24 the patients in the memantine group had better CGIC scores than those taking placebo (mean difference 0·7, 95% CI 0·04—1·39; p=0·03). With the exception of improved speed on attentional tasks in the memantine group (a quick test of cognition [AQT] form: difference 12·4, 95% CI 6·0—30·9; p=0·004), there were no significant differences between the groups in secondary outcome measures.

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