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A responder analysis of memantine treatment in patients with Alzheimer disease maintained on donepezil
van Dyck CH, Schmitt FA, Olin JT, Memantine MEM-MD-02 Study Group.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2006-05-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective The objective of this study was to examine the clinical utility of memantine for moderate-to-severe Alzheimer disease (AD) using responder analyses. Method Data from a previously published 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 10 mg memantine twice a day in patients with moderate-to-severe AD (N = 404) on stable donepezil therapy were evaluated using three sets of responder criteria. Response rates were calculated and analyzed for the intention-to-treat population using a generalized estimating equations model. The following outcomes were examined separately and in combination: the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living 19-Item Inventory (ADCS-ADL19), Severe Impairment Battery (SIB), Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change Plus Caregiver Input (CIBIC-Plus), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Results When treatment response required cognitive improvement relative to baseline, memantine yielded higher response rates than placebo. When treatment response was defined as stabilization of individual outcomes, memantine resulted in significantly higher response rates than placebo for all outcomes, with number needed to treat (NNT) ranging from 8-10. More conservative definitions of response that required simultaneous stabilization on multiple outcome measures again favored memantine treatment for six of 10 combinatorial definitions. Conclusions These responder analyses may assist clinicians in evaluating the impact of memantine in a relevant clinical scenario, i.e., in patients with AD previously stabilized on a cholinesterase inhibitor. The current results indicate that in this setting, memantine produces both improvement and stabilization of symptoms, across multiple outcomes, and thus provides a clinically important treatment benefit for patients with moderate-to-severe AD.
Key findings
- Results When treatment response required cognitive improvement relative to baseline, memantine yielded higher response rates than placebo.
- When treatment response was defined as stabilization of individual outcomes, memantine resulted in significantly higher response rates than placebo for all outcomes, with number needed to treat (NNT) ranging from 8-10.
- The current results indicate that in this setting, memantine produces both improvement and stabilization of symptoms, across multiple outcomes, and thus provides a clinically important treatment benefit for patients with moderate-to-severe AD.
Why it matters
In this responder analysis of a 24-week trial, memantine produced higher response rates than placebo for improving or stabilizing symptoms in people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease already taking donepezil. This concerns symptom improvement and stabilization, not curing or preventing the disease.
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Study details
- Participants404
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 59/100
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 (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 178 (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 | 404 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 62 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.8 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Jason T. Olin: h-index 41 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Yale University: institution h-index 1,927 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16670247) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
van Dyck, C. H., Schmitt, F. A., Olin, J. T., & Memantine MEM-MD-02 Study Group. (2006). A responder analysis of memantine treatment in patients with Alzheimer disease maintained on donepezil. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jgp.0000203151.17311.38
Vancouver
van Dyck CH, Schmitt FA, Olin JT, Memantine MEM-MD-02 Study Group. A responder analysis of memantine treatment in patients with Alzheimer disease maintained on donepezil. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2006. doi:10.1097/01.jgp.0000203151.17311.38. PMID: 16670247.
BibTeX
@article{vandyck2006-16670247,
author = {van Dyck, C. H. and Schmitt, F. A. and Olin, J. T. and {Memantine MEM-MD-02 Study Group}},
title = {{A responder analysis of memantine treatment in patients with Alzheimer disease maintained on donepezil}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1097/01.jgp.0000203151.17311.38},
pmid = {16670247},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jgp.0000203151.17311.38}
}
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