Clinical Trial: Open Label Pilot Study of the Effects of Memantine on FDG-PET in Frontotemporal Dementia

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: An Open Label Pilot Study of the Effects of Memantine Administration on FDG-PET in Frontotemporal Dementia

Brief Summary:

Memantine has been approved for use in Alzheimer's disease. Its mechanism of action raises questions of whether it can also be effective for non-Alzheimer's dementias such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which currently has no disease-modifying treatment.

This is an open-label study to probe the effects of memantine in 15 outpatients diagnosed with FTD, as shown objectively by comparing PET scans performed before and after use of the medication. The specific type of PET scan, FDG-PET, allows the investigators to gauge the effects of memantine on cortical activity levels. The investigators hypothesize that subjects on memantine will show normalization of cortical metabolic activity.

Detailed Summary:
Sponsor: Tiffany Chow, MD

Current Primary Outcome: Metabolic activity in frontal and temporal lobes. [ Time Frame: 6 months ]

Original Primary Outcome: Metabolic activity in frontal and temporal lobes. [ Time Frame: 7 weeks ]

Current Secondary Outcome: Behavioural inventories, UPDRS Motor scale. [ Time Frame: 6 months ]

Original Secondary Outcome: Behavioural inventories, UPDRS Motor scale. [ Time Frame: 7 weeks ]

Information By: Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest

Dates:
Date Received: January 7, 2008
Date Started: October 2007
Date Completion:
Last Updated: June 1, 2012
Last Verified: June 2012