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Article Title
- High or Low Blood Pressure May Raise the Risk of Dementia
- How Alcohol Might Affect Your Dementia Risk
- The Hidden Costs of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Susceptible to Scams? It May Be an Early Sign of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Alzheimer’s Caregivers May Benefit from Happiness Training
- Giving Up the Guns When a Family Member Has Alzheimer’s
- Care Management Program Is Reducing Need for Anti-anxiety Medication and Visits to the Hospital/Emergency Room
- Talking to a Loved One With Alzheimer’s
- 10 Powerful Ways to Commemorate Alzheimer’s Awareness Month
- Making the Most of Mealtimes for People With Alzheimer’s
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- Anemia Tied to Alzheimer’s Risk
- ‘Squeezed’ Blood Vessels in the Brain May Contribute to Alzheimer’s Onset
- Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer Tied to Alzheimer’s Disease Risk
- Lack of Deep Sleep Tied to Alzheimer’s Brain Changes
- Inflammation in Middle Age Tied to Thinking and Memory Problems Later
- Frailty May Increase Susceptibility to Alzheimer’s Disease
- Intensive Blood Pressure Control May Help Keep Memory Sharp
- Inflammation May Spur the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease
- High Blood Pressure of Pregnancy Tied to Late-Life Dementia
- Heart Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Share Genetic Links
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- Take Your Blood Pressure Meds. It May Reduce Your Alzheimer’s Risk.
- Drug Company to Pursue Approval of Aducanumab, New Drug for Alzheimer’s
- Drugs May Not Be the Best Choice for Easing the Agitation of Alzheimer’s
- Alzheimer’s Drug May Lead to Life-Threatening Muscle Disease
- Opioid Painkillers Increase Pneumonia Risk in People With Alzheimer’s Disease
- Drug Companies Halt Trials of Aducanumab for Alzheimer’s Disease
- Diabetes Treatments May Help Ward Off Alzheimer’s Disease
- Can Mushrooms Help Your Memory?
- Buyer Beware: Dietary Supplement’s Won’t Cure Alzheimer’s Disease
- Experimental Drug, Fails to Benefit Alzheimer’s Patients
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
- Reading and Writing May Be Good for the Brain
- Ski Study Shows How Exercise May Aid the Brain
- How Light May Help People with Alzheimer’s Disease
- Trans Fats Tied to Increased Alzheimer’s Risk
- New Guidelines Urge a Healthy Lifestyle to Prevent Dementia
- At Genetic Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease? A Healthy Lifestyle May Help
- Exercise Can Help Keep the Brain ‘Young’
- Fighting Gum Disease May Aid in Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease
- Brain Scans Aid in Management of Alzheimer’s Disease
- For Brain Health, Choose Heart-Healthy Foods
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
- A Rare Genetic Mutation May Protect Against Alzheimer’s
- Income Drops in Young Adulthood May Impair Brain Health
- Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Grows Closer
- Are We Getting Closer to an Alzheimer’s Vaccine?
- Why More Women Than Men Have Alzheimer’s Disease
- Scientists get a ‘total surprise’ and a promising new clue for how to cure Alzheimer’s
- Some 44 Million People Have Alzheimer’s Worldwide
- Nearly 14 Million Americans Will Have Alzheimer’s Disease by 2060
- Alzheimer’s Rates Could Double in Coming Decades
- Combining Care Program With Medication Reduces Alzheimer’s Symptoms By 750%
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
- The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Earns Coveted 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator for the 8th Consecutive Year
- Fisher Center For Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Wins Fall 2018 Digital Health Awards®
- Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Earns Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar
- The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Earns Coveted 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator for the 7th Consecutive Year
- Hear Kent Karosen, President and CEO of the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, describe his new book and the power of art therapy
- Fisher Center Scientists link a Mutation That Protects Against the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Newly Inducted Into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Shaquille O’Neal, Joins the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation to Raise Funds for Groundbreaking Research in the Quest for a Cure
- Pat Summitt, legendary women’s basketball coach, dies at 64
- Celebrating the life of Nancy Reagan for her Impact on the Fight to end Alzheimer’s
- WRNN Interview
- FOR MORE ARTICLES CLICK HERE
Drug Facts: Namenda (memantine)
August 3, 2010
Generic name: memantine
Description
Sold as 10 mg capsules (gray, with the number “10” on one side and the letters “FL” on the other) and 5 mg capsules (tan, with “5” on one side “FL” on the other).
Why It’s Prescribed
To ease the symptoms of moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. May slow the mental and physical deterioration seen in the later stages of Alzheimer’s. However, it does not halt disease progression long term.
Who Benefits
People with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. In one six-month study, patients deteriorated about half as much as they would have if they had not been taking the drug. The main benefit comes later in the course of the illness, when it may improve quality of life for patients and caregivers alike. However, improvements may be very subtle, and it does not work for everybody.
How it Works
Shields brain cells from overexposure to a chemical called glutamate, excess levels of which contribute to the death of brain cells in people with Alzheimer’s. However, there is no evidence the drug protects brain cells or halts or reverses the downward spiral of symptoms long term.
Dosage Guidelines
To start, 5 mg once a day. The dose is gradually increased to a daily total dose of 20 mg, taken in two doses. Can be taken with or without food.
Onset of Effect
Benefits, if they occur, may be noticed within several weeks of starting the drug.
Storage
Store in a tightly sealed container away from heat, moisture and light.
Missed Dose
Skip the missed dose and resume your regular schedule.
Long-term Use
The drug is taken long term and may move the clock back a few months, but the disease continues to progress. If the drug seems to stop working, your doctor may switch you off the drug.
Side Effects
Serious: There are no serious side effects.
Most common: Dizziness, headache, constipation, confusion, skin rash. These side effects may diminish within several weeks.
Less common: Fatigue, general achiness, back pain, high blood pressure, vomiting, trouble sleeping, hallucinations, coughs, shortness of breath.
Precautions & Special Concerns
Patients with kidney problems may not be able to tolerate this drug.
When to Call the Doctor
If you experience troublesome side effects or the drug seems to stop working.
In Case of Overdose: Symptoms & What to Do
Restlessness, psychosis, visual hallucinations, stupor, loss of consciousness. Call your doctor, emergency medical services, or poison control center immediately.
Drug Interactions
May interact with amantadine, ketamine, and dextromethorphan. May alter levels of various drugs, including diuretics (hydrochlorothiazide, triamterene), ulcer drugs (cimetidine, ranitidine) and quinidine.
Food Interactions
No known food interactions.
Disease Interactions
People with mild kidney problems may need to take a low dose. Those with severe kidney disease may not be able to tolerate it at all.
Expert comment
“For some people with Alzheimer’s disease, this drug can lead to improvements that the family can see. In others, responses may only be detectable under special testing conditions, or there may be no measurable response at all. It is important that family members and physicians maintain realistic expectations for drug therapy and remember that, as with all current Alzheimer’s drugs, responses are generally only modest at best.” –Samuel E. Gandy, M.D., Ph.D., Scientific Advisory Board, Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation
