Trial reportThe Lancet. Neurology2013
Memantine in patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in The Lancet. Neurology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 92 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Prospective, Randomized, Multi-Center, Double-Blind, 26 Week, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Memantine (10mg BID) for the Frontal and Temporal Subtypes of Frontotemporal Dementia
Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network Advancing Research and Treatment for Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration [ARTFL]: Research Projects 1 & 2
Who cites it
92 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 217 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transcranial direct current stimulation in semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia: a state-of-the-art review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- Tracking disease progression in familial and sporadic frontotemporal lobar degeneration: Recent findings from ARTFL and LEFFTDS.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2020Pooled it
- Memantine for dementia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Pharmacological treatments for frontotemporal dementias: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias · 2014Pooled it
- Concentration-Dependent Activity of Hydromethylthionine on Clinical Decline and Brain Atrophy in a Randomized Controlled Trial in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Longitudinal multimodal imaging and clinical endpoints for frontotemporal dementia clinical trials.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2019Trial
- Adaptive crossover designs for assessment of symptomatic treatments targeting behaviour in neurodegenerative disease: a phase 2 clinical trial of intranasal oxytocin for frontotemporal dementia (FOXY).Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2018Trial
- Results from a pilot study on amiodarone administration in monogenic frontotemporal dementia with granulin mutation.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2014Trial
- Memantine for fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2014Trial
- Neurotransmitter-defined cerebral vulnerability patterns in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD).Journal of neurology · 2026Article
- Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Primary Progressive Aphasia: Phenomenology, Circuits, and Clinical Management.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2026Review
- Memantine: updates from the past decade and implications for future novel therapeutic applications.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Review
- Spatial covariance of mGluR5 density and structural degeneration in behavioral variant frontotemporal degeneration.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2026Article
- Executive function and the feasibility of clinical trials for frontotemporal dementia.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Article
- Clinical Practice Guidelines for Dementia: Recommendations for Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine.Dementia and neurocognitive disorders · 2025Article
- MAPT mutation-induced behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia in an Asian patient: a multimodal biomarker case report resolving diagnostic challenges with Alzheimer's disease.Frontiers in genetics · 2025Article
- Clinical Manifestations and Neural Basis of Semantic Dementia: Converging Evidences From Brain Imaging Studies.Clinical interventions in aging · 2025Review
- Primary Progressive Aphasia Treatment: Current Treatment Options in Neurology Article Topic: Management of Primary Progressive Aphasia.Current treatment options in neurology · 2025Review
32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
22 authors at 11 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMemantine has been used off-label to treat frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTD). A previous 26-week open-label study suggested a transient, modest benefit on neuropsychiatric symptoms as measured by the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI). We aimed to determine whether memantine is an effective treatment for FTD.
methodsWe did a randomised, parallel group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 20 mg memantine taken orally daily for 26 weeks in patients with FTD. Participants met Neary criteria for behavioural variant FTD (bvFTD) or semantic dementia and had characteristic brain atrophy. Use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors was prohibited. Individuals were randomly assigned to receive either memantine or matched placebo tablets (1:1) in blocks of two and four patients. All patients and study personnel were masked to treatment assignment. Primary endpoints were the change in total NPI score and clinical global impression of change (CGIC) score after 26 weeks and were analysed by intention to treat. This study is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov, number NCT00545974.
findingsOf 100 patients screened, 81 were randomly assigned to receive memantine (39 patients) or placebo (42 patients). Five (6%) patients discontinued, and 76 completed the 26-week treatment. Enrolment numbers were lower than planned because of many patients' preference to take memantine or cholinesterase inhibitors off-label rather than participate in a clinical trial. Memantine treatment had no effect on either the NPI (mean difference 2·2, 95% CI -3·9 to 8·3, p=0·47) or CGIC (mean difference 0·0, -0·4 to 0·4, p=0·90) after 26 weeks of treatment. Memantine was generally well tolerated; however, patients in the memantine group had more frequent cognitive adverse events (six patients) than those in the placebo group (one).
interpretationMemantine treatment showed no benefit in patients with FTD. These data do not support memantine use in FTD.
fundingForest Research Institute.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.