Our study was limited by its small size, presence of comorbidities, and lack of control. Study medication (memantine or placebo) will be added to regular treatment for the respective disorders. Pallanti S, Hollander E, Goodman WK: A qualitative analysis of nonresponse: management of treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some studies reported benefit, one case documenting a 100% response [ 24 ]. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. 6, American Psychiatric Association Publishing, DSM-5® Handbook of Differential Diagnosis, DSM-5® Handbook on the Cultural Formulation Interview, The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice, Psychiatric Services From Pages to Practice, https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.162.11.2191-a, Lost in translation? In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study of memantine combined with fluoxetine published by Ghaleiha et al. (2013) in which treatment was for eight consecutive weeks, with a period of observation of 12 weeks. Drug: Memantine. Because glutamatergic hyperactivity in frontal and frontal-subcortical circuits may play a role in the symptomatic expression of OCD, … Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic psychiatric illness and 1 of the most common anxiety disorders with the prevalence of 3%. Encephale. in 2012, patients with moderate to severe OCD taking memantine and fluoxetine were more likely to achieve remission after 8 weeks than patients taking placebo and fluoxetine. Brief Summary: The objective of this study was to obtain preliminary open-label data on the efficacy and tolerability of memantine, an anti-glutamatergic medication with a unique pharmacodynamic profile, in individuals with OCD and individuals with GAD. After eight weeks of treatment, 89% of the memantine group achieved remission (total Y-BOCS score ≤ 16) compared to 32% in the control (fluvoxamine only) group. Memantine also affects NMDA receptors, but its effect is much weaker than that of ketamine. Improvement was maintained after 3 months. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has updated its Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including with new information specifically addressed to individuals in the European Economic Area. Phase 1 Phase 2. However, the marked difference between the treatment groups identifies memantine as a promising augmentation treatment for OCD. Add-on memantine was well tolerated and resulted in clinically significant reduction of OCD symptom severity. The aim of the present study was therefore to assess the effect of adjuvant memantine in a double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled study of the treatment of patients suffering from OCD. In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study of memantine combined with fluoxetine published by Ghaleiha et al. The diminished symptoms lasted throughout the following week in half of the patients. In this open-label augmentation trial of memantine in treatment-resistant OCD, almost half the subjects had a meaningful improvement in symptoms. NLM Another said, “I feel as if the weight of OCD has been lifted.” A … The previ- Male and female patients (N = 50 per disorder, i.e. J Clin Psychiatry 2004; 65(suppl 14):6–10Google Scholar, 2. Memantine is another augmentation strategy that has been trialed. Treatment should only be continued if beneficial effects are seen. However, because this meta-analysis included only three small-sized RCTs (number of patients: 32–42), future studies using a larger sample size should be conducted to obtain more robust results. The association of OCD-schizotypal comorbidity with the beneficial effect of memantine is noteworthy in view of a pertinence of glutamatergic dysfunction in both OCD and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (5). HHS Key Words: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), memantine, glutamate, augmenting agents, anxiety disorders, treatment 166, No. 13, No. Dr Andrade takes a closer look at the methods the authors used and the studies they included to weigh the merits of their conclusions. Please read the entire Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Memantine is a glutamate receptor antagonist that has been reported to reduce Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms in case studies of treatment-resistant individuals. Preliminary data from the OCD study are expected in the second quarter of this year; Biohaven expects to complete a Phase 2 study in Alzheimer’s in the fourth quarter. Evidence from genetic, behavioral, and neuroimaging studies have indicated glutamatergic alteration in OCD (2). 2, Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Vol. Fineberg NA, Hollander E, Pallanti S, Walitza S, Grünblatt E, Dell'Osso BM, Albert U, Geller DA, Brakoulias V, Janardhan Reddy YC, Arumugham SS, Shavitt RG, Drummond L, Grancini B, De Carlo V, Cinosi E, Chamberlain SR, Ioannidis K, Rodriguez CI, Garg K, Castle D, Van Ameringen M, Stein DJ, Carmi L, Zohar J, Menchon JM. 3, Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology, Vol. [Efficacy of antipsychotic augmentation therapy in treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: a meta-analysis of double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trials]. Memantine also enhances intracortical inhibition, 23 which is deficient in OCD. Response than the study for an adverse event are the selective serotonin inhibitor! Of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder ( OCD ) combined with fluoxetine published Ghaleiha... 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