Namenda memantine HCI

The Namenda Difference

A Unique Alzheimer's Medication with Proven Benefits

Now that your doctor has prescribed Namenda® (memantine HCl)*, you are joining the more than 2 million people around the world who have been treated with Namenda therapy. 1

Namenda is a unique Alzheimer's disease medication 2-6 that has a low rate of side effects 2 and has been proven effective in helping to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease when taken alone or as part of a combination therapy. 7,8

Namenda Therapy

The results of a clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed Alzheimer's patients taking Namenda experienced a slower rate of decline in Alzheimer's disease symptoms than those taking a placebo (sugar pill). 7 Specifically 7,9:

  • People taking Namenda experienced a slower rate of decline in thinking over time than patients who took a placebo.
  • Namenda patients had significantly greater ability to perform daily activities, including doing household tasks such as taking out the garbage or cleaning the table after dinner, as well as conversing.

Namenda in Combination with Aricept

The benefits of Namenda also extend to combination therapy – taking Namenda with another Alzheimer's disease medication, Aricept® (donepezil). Adding Namenda to Aricept may do more to help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.8

Combining medications to increase benefits is not a new concept in healthcare. To treat conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, doctors often combine medications so patients derive benefits from drugs that target different aspects of a disease.

The results of a clinical trial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed Alzheimer's patients taking Namenda in combination with Aricept experienced a slower rate of decline in thinking, function and behavior compared to those taking Aricept alone. 8***

The study found that combination therapy with Namenda+Aricept may 8,10-11:

  • Improve and maintain thinking
  • Help maintain the ability to perform activities of daily living such as grooming, finding belongings and conversing
  • Significantly improve behavior
  • Delay the onset of negative behavioral symptoms such as agitation, aggression and irritability in asymptomatic people

By treating the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, Namenda, in combination with Aricept, may do more to treat the symptoms of the disease and allow people with Alzheimer's to recognize and interact with family and friends longer and may help make life more manageable for everyone involved.

Next Topic: What to Expect

  1. Data on file. Forest Laboratories, Inc.
  2. Namenda® Prescribing Information. Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. St Louis, Mo.
  3. Aricept® Prescribing Information
  4. Razadyne® Prescribing Information
  5. Exelon® Prescribing Information
  6. Doraiswamy PM. CNS Drugs. 2002
  7. Reisberg B et al. N Engl J Med. 2003
  8. Tariot PN et al. JAMA. 2004
  9. Feldman H et al. ECNP. 2006
  10. Schmitt et al. ADAD. 2006
  11. Feldman H et al. ADAD. 2006
  12. Cummings JL et al. Neurology. 2006
  • *Namenda is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.
  • **Aricept® is a product of Eisai Inc. and Pfizer Inc. Aricept is not manufactured by the makers of Namenda.
  • ***Results from a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled U.S. study investigating the efficacy of NAMENDA+Aricept in patients with moderate to severe AD. The study involved 404 outpatients. Patients were randomized to treatment with NAMENDA (10 mg BID) or sugar pill to a stable regimen of Aricept (5 mg-10 mg/day) for 24 weeks.