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.