Memantine for behavioral disturbances in frontotemporal dementia: a case series.

BACKGROUND

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the more common presenile dementias. Unlike Alzheimer disease, there are no approved medications to treat this debilitating condition.

OBJECTIVE

To report the response of memantine on the behavioral manifestations of FTD.

DESIGN

Case series of 3 patients diagnosed with FTD and treated with memantine.

RESULTS

All 3 patients showed an improvement in total Neuropsychiatric Inventory score with specific improvements in the subscale scores of apathy, agitation, and anxiety. Memantine was well tolerated in all patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This small case series supports the notion that memantine may have a beneficial effect on the neuropsychiatric symptoms of FTD and should be further studied in a prospective clinical trial.