MEMANTINE SANDOZ

Treatment should be initiated and supervised by a physician experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Posology Therapy should only be started if a caregiver is available who will regularly monitor the intake of the medicinal product by the patient.

Diagnosis should be made according to current guidelines. The tolerance and dosing of memantine should be reassessed on a regular basis, preferably within three months after start of treatment. Thereafter, the clinical benefit of memantine and the patient's tolerance of treatment should be reassessed on a regular basis according to current clinical guidelines.

Maintenance treatment can be continued for as long as a therapeutic benefit is favourable and the patient tolerates treatment with memantine. Discontinuation of memantine should be considered when evidence of a therapeutic effect is no longer present or if the patient does not tolerate treatment.

Adults:

Dose titration The recommended starting dose is 5 mg per day, which is stepwise increased over the first 4 weeks of treatment reaching the recommended maintenance dose as follows: Week 1 (day 1-7): The patient should take half a 10 mg tablet or quarter of a 20 mg tablet, equivalent to 5 mg per day, for 7 days.

Week 2 (day 8-14):

The patient should take one 10 mg tablet or half a 20 mg tablet, equivalent to 10 mg per day, for 7 days.

Week 3 (day 15-21):

The patient should take one and a half 10 mg tablet or three quarters of a 20 mg tablet, equivalent to 15 mg per day, for 7 days.

From Week 4 on:

The patient should take one 20 mg tablet or two 10 mg tablets, equivalent to 20 mg per day, once a day. Maintenance dose The recommended maintenance dose is 20 mg per day. Elderly On the basis of the clinical studies, the recommended dose for patients over the age of 65 years is 20 mg per day (one 20 mg tablet/two 10 mg tablets) as described above.

Renal impairment:

In patients with mildly impaired renal function (creatinine clearance 50 - 80 ml/min) no dosage adjustment is required. In patients with moderate renal impairment (creatinine clearance 30 - 49 ml/min) daily dose should be 10 mg. If tolerated well after at least 7 days of treatment, the dose could be increased up to 20 mg/day according to standard titration scheme.

Summary of the safety profile In clinical trials in mild to severe dementia, involving 1,784 patients treated with memantine and 1,595 patients treated with placebo, the overall incidence rate of adverse events with memantine did not differ from those with placebo; the adverse events were usually mild to moderate in severity.

8%). Tabulated list of adverse reactions The following Adverse Drug Reactions listed in the Table below have been accumulated in clinical studies with memantine and since its introduction in the market. Within each frequency grouping, undesirable effects are presented in order of decreasing seriousness.

Adverse reactions are ranked according to system organ class, using the following convention: Very common: (≥1/10) Common: (≥1/100 to <1/10) Uncommon: (≥1/1,000 to <1/100) Rare: (≥1/10,000 to <1/1,000) Very rare: (<1/10,000) Not known: (cannot be estimated from the available data) SYSTEM ORGAN CLASS FREQUENCY ADVERSE REACTION Infections and infestations Uncommon Fungal infections Immune system disorders Common Drug Hypersensitivity Psychiatric disorders Common Uncommon Uncommon Not known Somnolence Confusion Hallucinations1 Psychotic reactions2 Nervous system disorders Common Common Uncommon Very rare Dizziness Balance disorders Gait abnormal Seizures Cardiac disorders Uncommon Cardiac failure Vascular disorders Common Uncommon Hypertension Venous thrombosis/thromboembolism Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders Common Dyspnoea Gastrointestinal disorders Common Uncommon Not known Constipation Vomiting Pancreatitis2 Hepatobiliary disorders Common Not Known Elevated liver function test Hepatitis General disorders and administration site conditions Common Uncommon Headache Fatigue 1 Hallucinations have mainly been observed in patients with severe Alzheimer's disease.

2 Isolated cases reported in post-marketing experience. Alzheimer's disease has been associated with depression, suicidal ideation and suicide. In post-marketing experience these events have been reported in patients treated with memantine.

Caution is recommended in patients with epilepsy, former history of convulsions or patients with predisposing factors for epilepsy. Concomitant use of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-antagonists such as amantadine, ketamine or dextromethorphan should be avoided.

5). 2 “Elimination”) may necessitate careful monitoring of the patient. g. from a carnivore to a vegetarian diet, or a massive ingestion of alkalising gastric buffers. Also, urine pH may be elevated by states of renal tubulary acidosis (RTA) or severe infections of the urinary tract with Proteus bacteria.

In most clinical trials, patients with recent myocardial infarction, uncompensated congestive heart failure (NYHA III-IV), or uncontrolled hypertension were excluded. As a consequence, only limited data are available and patients with these conditions should be closely supervised.

Memantine 10 mg film-coated tablets contains lactose Patients with rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance, total lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption should not take this medicinal product.

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