Memantine drug class

Alzheimer s Disease This disease is due to the accumulation of j8-amyloid protein in the brain. The protein is believed to trigger brain degeneration through cell death of the neurons. Alzheimer s disease is characterized by loss of memory and intellectual performance, and slowness in thought. In the United States, a class of drugs called cholinesterase inhibitors is approved to treat Alzheimer s disease. Both Europe and the United States have approved a drug called memantine for treatment of Alzheimer s disease. 

There is one additional drug approved for use in moderate to severe cases of AD memantine, marketed as Namenda. Memantine works by a distinct mechanism it has moderate affinity for A-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and is the only approved molecule for moderate to severe AD in this structural class. We should be grateful for the AD drugs that we do have but the fact is that there is an enormous need for far better ones. 

Memantine is the first in a novel class of Alzheimer s disease medications acting a.o. on the NMDA receptor of the glutamatergic system. It also acts as an uncompetitive antagonist at different neuronal nicotinic receptors at potencies possibly similar to the NMDA receptor. Memantine is approved for treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer s disease and its use is associated with a moderate decrease in clinical deterioration of the disease. Common adverse drug reactions (>1% of patients) include confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, insomnia, agitation, and/or hallucinations. 

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