Namenda memantine HCI

How Does Namenda Work?

The Namenda Difference

Namenda® (memantine HCl) works in an entirely different way than other Alzheimer's disease medications. 1-5 Namenda targets a different aspect of Alzheimer's disease than other drugs – this is why it is used in combination therapy.

There are two classes of drugs approved by the FDA to treat Alzheimer's disease:

  • In a class by itself, Namenda is approved to treat moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. 6± Nerve cells rely on a variety of chemical messengers to transmit messages from one cell to the next. One of those chemical messengers is called glutamate. 10
  • Glutamate is a chemical in the brain that has been associated with learning and memory. Abnormal glutamatergic activity in the brain may lead to Alzheimer's disease symptoms. Namenda may help to improve abnormal glutamatergic activity.
  • The second class of drugs, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), target another chemical in the brain called acetylcholine. There may be too little acetylcholine in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease. AChEIs, which include Aricept® (donepezil)*, Razadyne® (galantamine) and Exelon® (rivastigmine), work by addressing that problem. 9

By taking Namenda in combination with a medication such as Aricept, the two drugs can work together to do more to help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

Next Topic: Is Adding Namenda Right for You?

± Under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA), the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) developed Model Guidelines Version 2.0, outlining drug categories and classes that may be used by prescription drug plan in developing their formularies. The USP Guidelines were used as the classification structure for approximately 74% of formularies that were in place when the new Medicare Part D benefit became activated January 1, 2006. 7,8

  1. Namenda® Prescribing Information. Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. St Louis, Mo.
  2. Aricept® Prescribing Information
  3. Razadyne® Prescribing Information
  4. Exelon® Prescribing Information
  5. Doraiswamy PM. CNS Drugs. 2002
  6. US Pharmacopeia. Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Model Guidelines Version 2.0: Drug Categories and Classes in Part D. Rockville, Md: United States Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc.; February 6, 2006
  7. US Pharmacopeia. Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Model Guidelines Version 2.0: Preamble. Rockville, Md: United States Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc.; February 6, 2006
  8. USP revising Medicare Model Guidelines. USP Press [newsletter]. January 2006: 1, 4
  9. Alzheimer's disease: Unraveling the Mystery. National Institutes of Health, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services; 2002. NIH Publication Number 02-3782
  10. Alzheimer's Association. FDA-approved treatments for Alzheimer's disease. Available at: www.alz.org/national/documents/topicsheet_treatments.pdf. Accessed on November 9, 2007
  • *Aricept is a product of Eisai Inc. and Pfizer Inc. Aricept is not manufactured by the makers of Namenda.