Namenda memantine HCI

How Does Namenda Work? 1±

Namenda: In a Class by Itself

Namenda® (memantine HCl)* works in an entirely different way than other Alzheimer's disease medications. 4-8 In a class by itself, Namenda targets a brain chemical known as glutamate. 10 Nerve cells rely on a variety of chemical messengers to transmit messages from one cell to the next. One of those chemical messengers is glutamate.

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.

While Namenda can be taken on its own, your doctor may have prescribed Namenda in combination with a different class of Alzheimer's medications, known as AChEIs (acetylcholinesterase inhibitors). This is because AChEIs, which include Aricept® (donepezil)**, Razadyne® (galantamine) and Exelon® (rivastigmine), work by targeting a different chemical in the brain called acetylcholine. There may be too little acetylcholine in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease. AChEIs work by addressing that problem. 9

When taken in combination, Namenda plus Aricept may work together to do more to help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

Next Topic: Namenda Stories

± 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. 2,3

  1. 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
  2. US Pharmacopeia. Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Model Guidelines Version 2.0: Preamble. Rockville, Md: United States Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc.; February 6, 2006
  3. USP revising Medicare Model Guidelines. USP Press [newsletter]. January 2006: 1, 4
  4. Namenda® Prescribing Information. Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc. St Louis, Mo.
  5. Aricept® Prescribing Information
  6. Razadyne® Prescribing Information
  7. Exelon® Prescribing Information
  8. Doraiswamy PM. CNS Drugs. 2002
  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
  • *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.