what is namenda

Date of Approval:
October 17, 2003

Manufacturer:
Forest Laboratories Inc.

Treatment for:
moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease

The U.S what is namenda. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Namenda (memantineHCl) for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease what is namenda. Namenda isthe first NMDA receptor antagonist to be approved for Alzheimer's disease andis also the only therapy approved for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer'sdisease.
Forest expects Namenda to be available to physicians, patients, and pharmaciesin January 2004.

Namenda's FDA approval is based on the Agency's review of safety and efficacydata from two U.S what is namenda. placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trials and an earliertrial conducted among nursing home patients in Europe what is namenda. Phase III data includeda 28-week monotherapy study of 252 patients published earlier this year in theNew England Journal of Medicine and a six-month, 401-patient study of Namendawhen used together with an ongoing regimen of the commonly used Alzheimer'sagent, donepezil what is namenda. In trials, patients treated with Namenda scored higher onmeasures of cognition, daily function, and/or global performance what is namenda. This developmentprogram for memantine was a joint effort between Forest and its licensor, MerzPharmaceuticals, who obtained centralized approval for memantine in the EuropeanUnion in 2002 what is namenda. Merz Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicatedto research and development in the fields of neurology and psychiatry.

In clinical trials, Namenda has been safe and well tolerated what is namenda. The most commonadverse events observed in clinical trials are dizziness, headache, constipation,and confusion what is namenda. Once available in pharmacies, Namenda will be administered orallyat a recommended dose of 10 mg BID following a four-week titration.

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease of the brain and it is the most commontype of dementia what is namenda. The term dementia is used to describe the progressive lossof cognitive, intellectual, or functional abilities what is namenda. Published reports projectthat by 2010 more than 5.1 million people in the United States will have Alzheimer'sdisease what is namenda. Currently, all Alzheimer's medications approved in the United Statesbelong to a class of agents called acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which areindicated for patients with mild to moderate symptoms of the disease what is namenda. Namendais the only approved therapy in the United States for moderate to severe Alzheimer'sdisease.

Mechanism of Action

Namenda (memantine HCl) is the first of a new class of medications for Alzheimer'sdisease with a mechanism of action distinct from currently available drugs what is namenda. Namenda is a low to moderate affinity NMDA (N-methyl-D- aspartate) receptorantagonist what is namenda. It is thought that overexcitation of NMDA receptors by the neurotransmitterglutamate may play a role in Alzheimer's disease since glutamate plays an integralrole in the neural pathways associated with learning and memory what is namenda. The excitotoxicityproduced by abnormal levels of glutamate is thought to be responsible for neuronalcell dysfunction and the eventual cell death observed in Alzheimer's disease what is namenda. Namenda is thought to selectively block the excitotoxic effects associated withabnormal transmission of glutamate, while allowing for the physiological transmissionassociated with normal cell functioning.

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