Memantine appears to significantly improve communication and naming ability in donepezil-treated patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.

Post-hoc analysis of the 24-week, double-blind, parallel group study identified clinical benefits of memantine, an uncompetitive agonist of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, on language and functional communication in patients receiving donepezil therapy compared with placebo.

The study, in donepezil-treated patients with a mean age of 75.5 years and a Mini Mental State Examination score of 10.1, gave 10 mg of memantine twice daily to 202 participants, while placebo was given to 201 patients.

Significant improvements were seen on the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB) naming subscale at weeks eight, 12 and 24, while improvements were also witnessed on the Functional Communication Score at week 24.

At week 12 benefits were also shown on the SIB Comprehension/Repetition/Discourse subscale.

Fewer memantine/donepezil-treated patients than placebo/donepezil-treated patients experienced a clinical decline on the SIB subscales of Naming and Reading/Writing at 38 per cent and 19.3 per cent respectively, as well as on the 19-item AD Cooperative Study - Activities of Daily Living Scale (AADCS-ADL) for Functional Communication Score.

"In patients with moderate-to-severe AD who were receiving stable doses of donepezil, the group treated with memantine demonstrated significantly improved naming abilities, and caregivers reported significantly better functional communication, compared with patients treated with placebo, at study endpoint," the authors wrote.

The study was presented at the 10th International Hong Kong/Springfield Pan-Asian Symposium on Advances in Alzheimer Therapy (AAT).

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