Memantine/Namenda FTD Study Released

Hi Everyone,

Many of us new this was coming. Now it's official here in the US. A study sponsored by Forest Laboratories Inc, has proven that the drugs Memantine/Namenda have absolutely no benefit for those with FTD and does not support it's use with FTD.

Memantine/Namenda Study

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There was another Namenda study done in Europe and released at the IAFTD conference in Manchester, England in October 2012. I will copy over the message relating to this announcement from Sharon Denny, program director of AFTD.

A multi-site clinical study of Memantine/Namenda use in bvFTD and semantic PPA that took place over the past few years is complete and the data analyzed. It's not published yet, but was the topic of a presentation at the Manchester conference. The study design could only detect large effects, and concluded "there was no benefit of Memantine/Namenda treatment in bvFTD of semantic PPA". That's not to say there aren't individuals who do experience benefit. Like all med/treatment questions there's variability from person to person. AND you should always coordinate med changes with your doctor; he/she will only be able to help over time if it's a partnership. 

I stopped using Namenda in October and have actually have been healthier no longer suffering the extreme tiredness/exhaustion side effects of the medication. I've also been contacted by many patients and caregivers who also found the drug to have no effect.

There are also some unfortunates that have been whammed with both Alzheimer's and FTD.  Consult with your doctor if you fall into that category.

Aricept is listed as medication to avoid with FTD. You will find a link to the UCSF article listing Aricept and other medications to avoid under "links" on the right side of this page.

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I want to thank everyone for there support and suggestions on my living situation and my impending move. I've been consulting with friends and been doing much soul searching. A plan is coming together which I will write about in a couple of days.

Howard