- Used to treat the moderate to severe symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer’s
- Used to treat vascular dementia
Namenda is the brand name of the generic drug Memantine and it is manufactured by Forest Laboratories. It is available as tablets, as a solution and as a kit. The film-coated capsule shaped tablets come in 5 mg and 10 mg strengths in bottles of 60 each. The 5 mg tablets are tan in color while the 10 mg ones are gray. The oral solution comes in a strength of 2 mg/mL in a 12 fl oz bottle. The kit is a blister pack made of PVC/aluminum that contains 28 of the 5 mg tablets and 21 of the 10 mg tablets.
Indications
This drug is indicated in the moderate to severe dementia symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Action
The drug is an NMDA or N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist and is a part of the class of drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s and called acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. This drug is believed to block any excessive transition of glutamate, a neurotransmitter. Research seems to indicate that an excess of glutamate could cause the malfunctioning of nerve cells resulting in the cells dying.
Side Effects
Many users will find that this drug does have some side effects but in most cases, they are mild and they pass within days of starting the drug. However, there may be occasions when a patient reacts very badly to the drug and experience side effects that could be severe. In this case, medical attention must be sought immediately. The milder and more transient side effects are nausea, upset stomach, vomiting, headache, insomnia, a flu-like feeling, loss of appetite, weight loss, anxiety, tiredness and passing more urine more often. The more severe ones are dizziness, aggression or depression, irregular heartbeat, swelling of the face especially around the eyes, hallucinations, seizures, confusion or lack of co-ordination, numbness, high blood pressure, not being able to pass urine, difficulty in breathing or chest pain.
Caution
The doctor will need to know all the relevant information about the patient before he can prescribe. So you will need to list out the patient’s illnesses both past and present and what medication he took or is taking for them. You will need to also list the vitamins and supplements that he is being given and any other medication that is being given to him if, like aspirin. The doctor will also want to know about any history of drug, tobacco or alcohol use. There are people who can be allergic to this drug so you need to tell the doctor about any allergies to medication or food if possible.
Contraindications
This drug is contraindicated in patients who are allergic to it. The escalation of the doses must be followed precisely and the caregiver must be instructed on the right dose at the right time. This drug should be avoided by people who have a history of seizures or hepatic or urinary complications. Care should be taken not to change dosages or to stop the medication abruptly without the doctor’s advice.