Trial reportJournal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology2017
Safety and Efficacy of Memantine in Children with Autism: Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study and Open-Label Extension.
Trial report in Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 3 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 102 citations in OpenAlex.
- NMDA antagonist agents for the treatment of symptoms in autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Pharmacological intervention for irritability, aggression, and self-injury in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Memantine for autism spectrum disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Memantine to Treat Social Impairment in Youths With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Efficacy and Safety of AltibrainCurrent pharmaceutical design · 2025Trial
- Efficacy and safety of memantine in children with autism spectrum disorder: Results from three phase 2 multicenter studies.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2019Trial
- A randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial shows that intranasal vasopressin improves social deficits in children with autism.Science translational medicine · 2019Trial
- Intranasal oxytocin treatment for social deficits and biomarkers of response in children with autism.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2017Trial
- Memantine: updates from the past decade and implications for future novel therapeutic applications.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Review
- Depression in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Neurobiological Convergence and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies.Biology · 2026Review
- Memantine Use in Prolonged Cognitive Sequalae in Pediatric Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Encephalitis: A Three-year Follow-up Case Report and Brief Review.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Effect of Alzheimer's disease medications on neurocognitive outcomes in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and low IQ: a scoping review.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Treatment of Catatonia with Benzodiazepine, Electroconvulsive Therapy and Memantine in an Adolescent: a Case Report.Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent · 2025Article
- Progress towards understanding risk factor mechanisms in the development of autism spectrum disorders.Biochemical Society transactions · 2024Review
- Characterization of a Clinically and Biologically Defined Subgroup of Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Identification of a Tailored Combination Treatment.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Advances in the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Current and Promising Strategies.Current medicinal chemistry · 2024Review
- Common Comorbid Condition of Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Pharmacotherapy for Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2024Article
- Increased NMDARs in neurons and glutamine synthetase in astrocytes underlying autistic-like behaviors ofiScience · 2023Article
- Predictors of placebo response in three large clinical trials of the V1a receptor antagonist balovaptan in autism spectrum disorder.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Article
- Memantine as treatment for compulsivity in child and adolescent psychiatry: Descriptive findings from an incompleted randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAbnormal glutamatergic neurotransmission is implicated in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of the glutamatergic N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist memantine (once-daily extended-release [ER]) were investigated in children with autism in a randomized, placebo-controlled, 12 week trial and a 48 week open-label extension.
methodsA total of 121 children 6-12 years of age with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR)-defined autistic disorder were randomized (1:1) to placebo or memantine ER for 12 weeks; 104 children entered the subsequent extension trial. Maximum memantine doses were determined by body weight and ranged from 3 to 15 mg/day.
resultsThere was one serious adverse event (SAE) (affective disorder, with memantine) in the 12 week study and one SAE (lobar pneumonia) in the 48 week extension; both were deemed unrelated to treatment. Other AEs were considered mild or moderate and most were deemed not related to treatment. No clinically significant changes occurred in clinical laboratory values, vital signs, or electrocardiogram (ECG). There was no significant between-group difference on the primary efficacy outcome of caregiver/parent ratings on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), although an improvement over baseline at Week 12 was observed in both groups. A trend for improvement at the end of the 48 week extension was observed. No improvements in the active group were observed on any of the secondary end-points, with one communication measure showing significant worsening with memantine compared with placebo (p = 0.02) after 12 weeks.
conclusionsThis trial did not demonstrate clinical efficacy of memantine ER in autism; however, the tolerability and safety data were reassuring. Our results could inform future trial design in this population and may facilitate the investigation of memantine ER for other clinical applications.
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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.