In the fight against Alzheimer’s disease there are a number of drug therapies that are implemented in patients at various points during the progression of their disease. One such drug, memantine, is approved for patients whose affliction is moderate to severe. It is not currently approved for use in patients with a mild form of Alzheimer’s. Now a study has shed more light on how useful memantine really is, and the results seem to suggest that it may be of little benefit at all.

The report comes out of a broader commission that was set up by the Federal Joint Committee to investigate the effectiveness of both prescription and non traditional drug therapies for Alzheimer’s patients.

Memantine was first used decades ago to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease, but it has been used for Alzheimer’s patients since 2002.

The substance is designed to prevent an excess build up of glutamate in the brain. Animal experiments had previously suggested that Alzheimer’s patients might have a permanent build up of glutamate, which is a neurotransmitter and that this excess may lead to death of neural cells. The logic was that memantine would prevent this without affecting the basic transmission of neural signals.

The scientists involved in this research began looking for previously completed studies that had investigated outcomes that were relevant to both the Alzheimer’s patient and their families and caregivers. These included basic cognitive function, the capability to perform daily living activities as well as symptoms of depression or aggression.

The researchers found seven studies in all which were suitable for their work. A total of 1913 Altzheimer’s patients were prescribed a memantine based drug over the course of sixteen to twenty eight weeks.

In the case of five of the usable studies the patients received a monotherapy consisting only of the memantine based medication. In the other two the drug was used as part of a broader therapy which included a cholinesterase inhibitor. There were placebo control groups in each study as well.

The included studies were lacking a good deal of critical data and it is clear that further research will be necessary before conclusive statements about the use memantine for Alzheimer’s patients can be made. But from the limited data available the researchers were unable to see any noticeable difference in any area between the groups of patients who were taking memantine or those in the placebo group.

Although there is indeed much research still to be done one of the scientists involved in the study notes “As long as it is not proven that therapies give patients or caregivers a perceptible advantage, it is very difficult to justify continuing to prescribe them when their costs are carried by the general public,” comments Peter Sawicki,who is the director of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care who published the report.