Namenda
NAMENDA- memantine hydrochloride tablet
NAMENDA- memantine hydrochloride
Allergan, Inc.
1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE
NAMENDA (memantine hydrochloride) is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer’s type.
2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
The recommended starting dose of NAMENDA is 5 mg once daily. The dose should be increased in 5 mg increments to 10 mg/day (5 mg twice daily), 15 mg/day (5 mg and 10 mg as separate doses), and 20 mg/day (10 mg twice daily). The minimum recommended interval between dose increases is one week. The dosage shown to be effective in controlled clinical trials is 20 mg/day.
NAMENDA can be taken with or without food. If a patient misses a single dose of NAMENDA, that patient should not double up on the next dose. The next dose should be taken as scheduled.
If a patient fails to take NAMENDA for several days, dosing may need to be resumed at lower doses and retitrated as described above.
Specific Populations
Renal Impairment
A target dose of 5 mg twice daily is recommended in patients with severe renal impairment (creatinine clearance of 5 – 29 mL/min based on the Cockcroft-Gault equation).
Hepatic Impairment
NAMENDA should be administered with caution to patients with severe hepatic impairment [see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3)].
3 DOSAGE FORMS AND STRENGTHS
NAMENDA 5 mg Tablet: capsule-shaped, film-coated tablets are tan, with the strength “5” debossed on one side and “FL” on the other side.
NAMENDA 10 mg Tablet: capsule-shaped, film-coated tablets are gray, with the strength “10” debossed on one side and “FL” on the other side.
4 CONTRAINDICATIONS
NAMENDA (memantine hydrochloride) is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to memantine hydrochloride or to any excipients used in the formulation.
5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS
5.1 Genitourinary Conditions
Conditions that raise urine pH may decrease the urinary elimination of memantine resulting in increased plasma levels of memantine [see Drug Interactions ( 7.1)].
6 ADVERSE REACTIONS
6.1 Clinical Trials Experience
NAMENDA was evaluated in eight double-blind placebo-controlled trials involving a total of 1862 dementia (Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia) patients (940 patients treated with NAMENDA and 922 patients treated with placebo) for a treatment period up to 28 weeks.
Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in clinical practice.
Adverse Events Leading to Discontinuation
In placebo-controlled trials in which dementia patients received doses of NAMENDA up to 20 mg/day, the likelihood of discontinuation because of an adverse reaction was the same in the NAMENDA group (10.1%) as in the placebo group (11.5%). No individual adverse reaction was associated with the discontinuation of treatment in 1% or more of NAMENDA-treated patients and at a rate greater than placebo.
Most Common Adverse Reactions
In double-blind placebo-controlled trials involving dementia patients, the most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥ 5% and higher than placebo) in patients treated with NAMENDA were dizziness, headache, confusion and constipation. Table 1 lists all adverse reactions that occurred in at least 2% of patients treated with NAMENDA and at an incidence greater than placebo.
Adverse Reaction | Placebo (N=922) % | NAMENDA (N=940) % |
Body as a Whole | ||
Fatigue | 1 | 2 |
Pain | 1 | 3 |
Cardiovascular System | ||
Hypertension | 2 | 4 |
Central and Peripheral Nervous System | ||
Dizziness | 5 | 7 |
Headache | 3 | 6 |
Gastrointestinal System | ||
Constipation | 3 | 5 |
Vomiting | 2 | 3 |
Musculoskeletal System | ||
Back pain | 2 | 3 |
Psychiatric Disorders | ||
Confusion | 5 | 6 |
Somnolence | 2 | 3 |
Hallucination | 2 | 3 |
Respiratory System | ||
Coughing | 3 | 4 |
Dyspnea | 1 | 2 |
The overall profile of adverse reactions and the incidence rates for individual adverse reactions in the subpopulation of patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease were not different from the profile and incidence rates described above for the overall dementia population.
Seizures
NAMENDA has not been systematically evaluated in patients with a seizure disorder. In clinical trials of NAMENDA, seizures occurred in 0.2% of patients treated with NAMENDA and 0.5% of patients treated with placebo.
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