Memantine protects cognitive function after whole brain irradiation

Memantine, a drug normally prescribed for slowing cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, can help to preserve cognitive function in cancer patients who have undergone whole brain irradiation, a study showed. In a phase III trial, patients with brain metastases were randomly assigned to take 20 mg memantine (Namenda) or placebo daily for 24 weeks after whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT). The memantine cohort had a 17% relative reduction in cognitive decline compared with patients who got a placebo, Dr. Nadia N. Laack reported at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. Read more here.