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A 24-week open-label extension study of memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease
Reisberg B, Doody R, Stöffler A, Schmitt F, Ferris S, Möbius HJ.. Archives of neurology, 2006-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background This study is an extension of a 28-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of memantine in 252 patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease. Objective To evaluate long-term memantine treatment in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease. Design, setting, and patients Open-label, 24-week extension trial. Raters remained blind to the patients' initial study treatment. Patients (n = 175) were enrolled from the previous double-blind study in an outpatient setting. Intervention Twenty mg of memantine was given daily. Main outcome measures Efficacy assessments from the double-blind study were continued and safety parameters were monitored. Results Patients who switched to memantine treatment from their previous placebo therapy experienced a significant benefit in all main efficacy assessments (functional, global, and cognitive) relative to their mean rate of decline with placebo treatment during the double-blind period (P Conclusion These results extend previous findings that demonstrated the efficacy and safety of memantine in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Reisberg, B., Doody, R., Stöffler, A., Schmitt, F., Ferris, S., & Möbius, H. J. (2006). A 24-week open-label extension study of memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.63.1.49
Vancouver
Reisberg B, Doody R, Stöffler A, Schmitt F, Ferris S, Möbius HJ. A 24-week open-label extension study of memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease. Archives of neurology. 2006. doi:10.1001/archneur.63.1.49. PMID: 16401736.
BibTeX
@article{reisberg2006-16401736,
author = {Reisberg, B. and Doody, R. and Stöffler, A. and Schmitt, F. and Ferris, S. and Möbius, H. J.},
title = {{A 24-week open-label extension study of memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Archives of neurology},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1001/archneur.63.1.49},
pmid = {16401736},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.63.1.49}
}
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Key findings
- Results Patients who switched to memantine treatment from their previous placebo therapy experienced a significant benefit in all main efficacy assessments (functional, global, and cognitive) relative to their mean rate of decline with placebo treatment during the double-blind period (P<.05).
Why it matters
In this 24-week open-label extension, patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease who switched from placebo to memantine showed significant benefit on functional, global, and cognitive measures compared with their earlier decline on placebo. The study was open-label and had no placebo comparison during the extension, so it supports memantine for symptom treatment but does not show it cures or prevents Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designopen-label trial
- Participants175
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Archives of Neurology: journal h-index 353 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 175 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 181 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 8.2 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 16.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 7 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Hans Jörg Möbius: h-index 15 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | New York University: institution h-index 1,612 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16401736) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
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