PMID- 20049770
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20110126
LR  - 20220409
IS  - 1099-1166 (Electronic)
IS  - 0885-6230 (Linking)
VI  - 25
IP  - 6
DP  - 2010 Jun
TI  - A review comparing the safety and tolerability of memantine with the 
      acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
PG  - 547-53
LID - 10.1002/gps.2384 [doi]
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is prevalent among elderly people, who often 
      have comorbid conditions, and may be prescribed multiple medications. Drug safety 
      and tolerability is paramount in maximising efficacy and optimising patient and 
      carer quality of life, as patients are vulnerable to adverse events (AEs) and/or 
      compliance difficulties. The two principal categories of drug used in the 
      treatment of AD are the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) and the 
      NMDA-receptor antagonist, memantine. This paper reviews the most recent safety 
      data for memantine in comparison with the AChEIs. DESIGN: Review of most recent 
      safety/tolerability data for memantine and AChEIs, derived from meta-analyses, 
      pooled analyses, European SPCs and EMEA publications. RESULTS: Memantine was 
      found to have a favourable tolerability profile when used as monotherapy or in 
      combination with other agents. AChEIs were found to be fairly well tolerated. All 
      treatments commonly or very commonly produce dizziness and/or headache. AChEIs 
      are associated with many more types of AEs than memantine, particularly in the 
      gastrointestinal category. Agitation is a less common AE when comparing memantine 
      treatment to placebo, but just as common when comparing AChEI treatment to 
      placebo. Withdrawals in memantine-treated groups are comparable to placebo, and 
      more common in AChEI-treated groups compared to placebo. Overall, drug-drug 
      interactions, contraindications and warnings were fewer for memantine than 
      AChEIs. CONCLUSIONS: In both the clinical and naturalistic setting, memantine 
      displays a safety and tolerability profile that is favourable and distinct from 
      that of AChEIs. Safety and tolerability profiles should be given careful 
      consideration when selecting treatment for AD patients.
FAU - Jones, R W
AU  - Jones RW
AD  - RICE (The Research Institute for the Care of Older People), Royal United 
      Hospital, Bath, UK. r.w.jones@bath.ac.uk
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Review
PL  - England
TA  - Int J Geriatr Psychiatry
JT  - International journal of geriatric psychiatry
JID - 8710629
RN  - 0 (Cholinesterase Inhibitors)
RN  - 0 (Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists)
RN  - W8O17SJF3T (Memantine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Aged
MH  - Akathisia, Drug-Induced
MH  - Alzheimer Disease/*drug therapy
MH  - Cholinesterase Inhibitors/*adverse effects/therapeutic use
MH  - Dizziness/epidemiology
MH  - Drug Interactions
MH  - Drug Therapy, Combination
MH  - Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists/*adverse effects/*therapeutic use
MH  - Headache/epidemiology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Incidence
MH  - Memantine/*adverse effects/therapeutic use
EDAT- 2010/01/06 06:00
MHDA- 2011/01/28 06:00
CRDT- 2010/01/06 06:00
PHST- 2010/01/06 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2010/01/06 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2011/01/28 06:00 [medline]
AID - 10.1002/gps.2384 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010 Jun;25(6):547-53. doi: 10.1002/gps.2384.