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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Mar 6.
Published in final edited form as: Lancet Neurol. 2008 Aug;7(8):742–755. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(08)70165-0

Table 4.

Summary of published randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trials of memantine in patients with dementia.

Study Participants Treatment Duration Primary Outcomes Main Results
Dementia (AD, VaD, mixed) Ditzler, 1991 N=66
SCAG ≥50		 MMT 30 mg/d or PLC 6 wks SCAG; SKT; ADL tests

  • MMT patients compared to PLC patients showed greater improvements in cognition, behaviour, and ADLs (P<0.0167)
Gortelmeyer and Erbler, 1992 N=88
SCAG ≥50
MMSE 11–30		 MMT 20 mg/d or PLC 6 wks SCAG; GBS; ADL tests; CGI

  • MMT patients compared to PLC patients showed greater improvements in cognition, behaviour, and ADLs (P≤0.05)

  • There was improvement in global impression in favour of MMT (P=0.01)
Winblad and Portis, 1999 N=166
MMSE <10		 MMT 10 mg/d or PLC 12 wks BGP-dep; CGI-C

  • MMT patients compared to PLC patients showed greater improvements in function and behaviour (P=0.016)

  • There was improvement in global impression in favour of MMT (P<0.001)
Alzheimer’s Disease (moderate to severe) Reisberg et al, 2003 N=252
MMSE 3–14		 MMT 20 mg/d or PLC 28 wks ADCS-ADLsev; CIBIC-plus

  • MMT patients compared to PLC patients showed less deterioration in functional capacity (P=0.003)

  • There was a difference in global impression in favour of MMT (P=0.03)
Tariot et al, 2004 N=404
MMSE 5–14		 MMT 20 mg/d or PLC plus DNP 5–10 mg/d 24 wks ADCS–ADL19; SIB

  • MMT patients compared to PLC patients showed less deterioration in functional capacity (P=0.03)

  • MMT patients showed improvement in cognition whereas PLC patients had cognitive decline (P<0.001)
van Dyck et al, 2007 N=350
MMSE 5–14		 MMT 20 mg/d or PLC 24 wks ADCS-ADL19; SIB

  • No significant difference in functional capacity (P=0.2) or cognition (P=0.6) between MMT and PLC at 24 wks
Alzheimer’s Disease (mild to moderate) Peskind et al, 2006 N=403
MMSE 10–22		 MMT 20 mg/d or PLC 24 wks ADAS-cog; CIBIC-plus

  • MMT patients showed improvement in cognition whereas PLC patients had worsening of cognition (P=0.003)

  • MMT patients compared to PLC patients showed less decline in global impression (P=0.004)
Bakchine and Loft, 2008 N=470
MMSE 11–23		 MMT 20 mg/d or PLC 24 wks ADAS-cog; CIBIC-plus

  • No significant difference in cognition (P=0.2) or global impression (P=0.5) between MMT and PLC at 24 wks
Porsteinsson et al, 2008 N=433
MMSE 10–22		 MMT 20 mg/d or PLC plus 1 DNP, RIV or GAL 24 wks ADAS-cog; CIBIC-plus

  • No significant difference in cognition or global impression between MMT and PLC (P>0.05)
Vascular Dementia (mild to moderate) Orgogozo et al, 2002 N=321
MMSE 12–20		 MMT 20 mg/d or PLC 28 wks ADAS-cog; CIBIC-plus

  • MMT patients showed improvement in cognition whereas PLC patients had worsening of cognition (P=0.0016)

  • No significant difference in global impression (P=0.2)
Wilcock et al, 2002 N=579
MMSE 10–22		 MMT 20 mg/d or PLC 28 wks ADAS-cog; CGI-C

  • MMT patients compared to PLC patients showed less cognitive decline (P=0.0005)

  • No significant difference in global impression (P=0.1)

AD=Alzheimer’s disease. ADAS-cog=Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale. ADCS-ADL19=Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living Inventory. ADCS-ADLsev=Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living Inventory modified for severe dementia. BGP-dep=Behavioural Rating Scale for Geriatric Patients- ‘care dependence’ subscore. CGI=Clinical Global Impression. CGI-C=Clinical Global Impression of Change. CIBIC-plus=Clinician’s Interview-Based Impression of Change Plus Caregiver Input. DNP=donepezil. GAL=galantamine. GBS=Gottfries-Bräne-Steen Scale. MMSE=Mini-Mental State Examination. MMT=memantine. PLC=placebo. RIV=rivastigmine. SCAG=Sandoz Clinical Assessment Geriatric Scale. SIB=Severe Impairment Battery. SKT=Syndrom-Kurz-Test. VaD=vascular dementia.