Author: Catherine E. Creeley
Memantine is a new drug recently approved in the U.S. for treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). Clinical evidence has been reported that memantine is neuroprotective in that it prevents
cognitive decline in AD patients, reduces caregiver burden, and slows
disease progression. The presumed mechanism of action is blockade of excitotoxic neurodegeneration through
antagonism of the N-methyl-D-aspartate sub-type of the glutamate receptor. A major issue surrounding the use of NMDA antagonists is that most of the drugs in this class are unavailable for therapeutic use because of the serious adverse side effects that have been observed in humans and laboratory animals. This…
