Next month caregivers will have a new pharmacologic agent to tackle Alzheimer's disease. Namenda (memantine HCl), the first of a new class of drugs for Alzheimer's disease, was approved by the FDA for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease--the only drug approved for such.

In trials, patients treated with Namenda scored higher than controls on measures of cognition, daily function, and/or global performance. Namenda has been well tolerated, the most common adverse events observed in clinical trials being dizziness, headache, constipation, and confusion. Namenda will be administered orally at a recommended dose of 10 mg BID following a four-week titration.

"While we continue to search for preventative therapies, the goal now is to provide physicians with multiple strategies to safely and effectively maintain or improve functioning in people with Alzheimer's along the entire course of the disease. In that spirit, the Alzheimer's Association welcomes FDA approval of memantine for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease," said William Thies, PhD, vice-president of medical and scientific affairs for the Alzheimer's Association.

For more information, including prescribing information, visit www.namenda.com.