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Cognitive response to memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease patients already receiving donepezil: an exploratory reanalysis
Schmitt FA, van Dyck CH, Wichems CH, Olin JT, Memantine MEM-MD-02 Study Group.. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders, 2006-10-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective To investigate the cognitive effects of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, memantine, with a post-hoc exploratory reanalysis of a 24-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group clinical trial comparing memantine (20 mg per day) to placebo in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease (AD) receiving treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil. Methods The effects of memantine on individual items of the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB), subscale performance, and 3 post-hoc-derived aggregate subscales were investigated. Analyses were based on the intention-to-treat population using last observation carried forward and observed cases approaches. The SIB components were assessed at baseline, weeks 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24. Results The mean change from baseline by visit and at study end point on the SIB showed statistically significant differences between the memantine and placebo groups at all visits beginning at week 8 (last observation carried forward and observed cases). The SIB subscale analysis showed statistically significantly greater effects of memantine than placebo on memory, language, and praxis. When the SIB domains were aggregated using a face valid approach to create 3 higher-order subscales, memantine treatment resulted in statistically significant differences on memory, language, and praxis compared with placebo. Conclusions These post-hoc analyses support the beneficial effects of memantine on cognition observed in a previously reported clinical trial. The results presented here suggest an effect of memantine on memory, language, and praxis in patients with moderate to severe AD and support the efficacy of memantine for the treatment of cognitive deficits in AD.
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APA 7th
Schmitt, F. A., van Dyck, C. H., Wichems, C. H., Olin, J. T., & Memantine MEM-MD-02 Study Group. (2006). Cognitive response to memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease patients already receiving donepezil: an exploratory reanalysis. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.wad.0000213860.35355.d4
Vancouver
Schmitt FA, van Dyck CH, Wichems CH, Olin JT, Memantine MEM-MD-02 Study Group. Cognitive response to memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease patients already receiving donepezil: an exploratory reanalysis. Alzheimer disease and associated disorders. 2006. doi:10.1097/01.wad.0000213860.35355.d4. PMID: 17132970.
BibTeX
@article{schmitt2006-17132970,
author = {Schmitt, F. A. and van Dyck, C. H. and Wichems, C. H. and Olin, J. T. and {Memantine MEM-MD-02 Study Group}},
title = {{Cognitive response to memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease patients already receiving donepezil: an exploratory reanalysis}},
journal = {Alzheimer disease and associated disorders},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1097/01.wad.0000213860.35355.d4},
pmid = {17132970},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/01.wad.0000213860.35355.d4}
}
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Key findings
- Results The mean change from baseline by visit and at study end point on the SIB showed statistically significant differences between the memantine and placebo groups at all visits beginning at week 8 (last observation carried forward and observed cases).
- The SIB subscale analysis showed statistically significantly greater effects of memantine than placebo on memory, language, and praxis.
- When the SIB domains were aggregated using a face valid approach to create 3 higher-order subscales, memantine treatment resulted in statistically significant differences on memory, language, and praxis compared with placebo.
- The results presented here suggest an effect of memantine on memory, language, and praxis in patients with moderate to severe AD and support the efficacy of memantine for the treatment of cognitive deficits in AD.
Why it matters
In this exploratory reanalysis of a 24-week trial, memantine added to donepezil improved scores on memory, language, and praxis compared with placebo in people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. As a post-hoc analysis, these findings are exploratory and do not show that memantine cures or prevents the disease.
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Study details
- Study designpost-hoc analysis
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 58/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer disease and associated disorders) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders: journal h-index 131 (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 | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| 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 3.1× 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 | 0 / 4 | Cited 2 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 | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17132970) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 58 / 100 | — |
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