Memantine in severe dementia: results of the9M-best study (benefit and efficacy in severly demented patients during treatment with memantine)

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Objectives To assess clinical efficacy and safety of memantine—an uncompetitive N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) antagonist—in moderately severe to severe primary dementia. Materials and methods Dementia was defined by DSM‐III‐R criteria and severity was assessed by the Global Deterioration Scale (stages 5–7) and the Mini‐Mental State Examination (pp=0.016). A coincident response of the two independent target variables was observed in 61.3% (memantine) versus 31.6% (placebo). Secondary endpoint analysis of the D‐Scale assessing basic ADL functions support the primary results. Regarding the safety profile, no significant differences between treatment groups were observed. Conclusions The results of this trial support the hypothesis that memantine treatment leads to functional improvement and reduces care dependence in severely demented patients. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.