Unlike other prescription treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, Namenda is the first drug to be approved to treat moderate to severe symptoms of the disease. Namenda is also a fascinating drug to study because it acts differently than other medicines prescribed to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

How it Works

Namenda works by an entirely different mechanism than a medication like Aricept. The drug is thought by scientists to play a sort of protective role in the brain. Namenda does so by regulating a chemical messenger in the brain called glutamate. People with Alzheimer’s disease tend to produce too much glutamate, a chemical that acts as a “gate keeper” of other chemicals in the brain and thus plays a significant role in a person’s memory and ability to learn.

Glutamate allows certain amounts of other brain chemicals like calcium, a chemical required for informational storage in the brain, to enter the brain’s nerve cells. Namenda helps to regulate the production of glutamate and thus indirectly regulates other chemicals in the brain as well. The drug helps to greatly improve the brain’s ability to process information and to retrieve memories, thus also improving the quality of life for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Namenda is also accompanied by certain side effects. These side effects are also generally mild in most patients. They include tiredness, dizziness, headache, and confusion. While like other prescription drugs Namenda cannot cure or directly prevent Alzheimer’s disease, the drug does offer hope to patients who are suffering from the more severe symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Also known as memantine, Namenda cannot slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. This means the disease can still be present and destroying nerve cells in the brain. However, the drug can and does show significant ability to improve the intellectual capacity of a person living with the condition. While a drug such as Aricept works best on mild to moderate symptoms and when administered after diagnosis, Namenda may offer hope to patients who have experienced the effects of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and who suffer from more severe impairment.