Posted by SLS on September 13, 2001, at 16:17:18
It looks like memantine will soon be approved.
Memantine is a drug being developed for the treatment of Alzheimer's Dementia. Of course, this doesn't exclude the possibility that it might be effective for treating other conditions. AndrewB, one of our many bright contributors of which I am not one, indicated not so long ago that memantine might have a place in treating certain psychiatric conditions. For now, I would rather defer to him or someone else to describe in more detail the therapeutic potential of this drug.
Among the pharmacological properties that memantine might possess is the ability to block the NMDA receptor. This is really a subtype of the receptors known to be stimulated by the neurotransmitter glutamate, and are thus labelled glutamatergic. Glutamate-activated neurons are the most numerous of the excitatory type in the brain. It is thought that it is through an increase in glutamatergic neurotransmission that modafinil (Provigil) and adrafinil (Olmifon) produce their activating effects to promote wakefulness. This is in contrast to GABA-activated neurons (gamma-amino butyric acid), which act to inhibit or "calm-down" the excitatory neurons. For reasons that I do not yet understand, it seems that memantine can prevent the development of tolerance to certain drugs, including opioids and stimulants. A couple of people here reported that it allowed them to maintain a continuous response to the psychostimulants that helped to improve their mood. Adderal and Cylert were the drugs to which memantine was added. Previously, these people needed to cycle on and off these psychostimulants because the beneficial effects would disappear within three or four days.
I hope Andrew is tuned-in so that he can offer some of his wisdom. In particular, I would like his feedback regarding the possibility that a partial antidepressant response to Lamictal might be an indicator of a more robust response to memantine. Perhaps memantine can prevent or reverse the emergence of SSRI "poop-out", or act as an adjunct whenever someone displays a pattern of responding to a particular antidepressant for only three days (me - TCAs and MAOIs).
Anyway, I'd like to see what other people can come up with regarding memantine. It might be a good tool to treat depression and prevent neuronal degeneration.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:78734
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010907/msgs/78734.html