Added therapeutic value of memantine in the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.

When evaluating the added therapeutic value of a drug, evidence of greater overall benefit or at least an add-on benefit is increasingly being required. Therefore, cost-effectiveness in addition to clinical efficacy is an important consideration. The efficacy of a drug must be examined on the basis of clinical trials by measuring specific parameters that are affected by the drug (for example blood pressure with antihypertensive treatment). Today not only efficacy but also patient-relevant changes (patient benefits) must be demonstrated for a drug, often by measuring quality of life. In order to evaluate the benefit of monotherapy with the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist memantine in the management of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease, a systematic literature review was conducted. The results showed a benefit for memantine in comparison with placebo in terms of a decrease in nursing care, a delay in care dependency and a delay in admission to nursing homes. In addition, an increase in quality of life has been observed.