Memantine for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia - horizon scanning review
NHSC
Record Status
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.
Citation
NHSC. Memantine for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia - horizon scanning review. Birmingham: National Horizon Scanning Centre (NHSC). New and Emerging Technology Briefing. 2001
Authors' objectives
To summarise the current research evidence on memantine for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
Authors' conclusions
- Clinical impact: Memantine is the first treatment being developed for patients suffering from moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease and for patients suffering from vascular dementia. This is a growing patient group, which consume a significant proportion of health and social service spending. - Service impact: There will be no training or service re-organisation required to use memantine as most patients with severe dementia are seen in specialist services, but some monitoring of effectiveness will be required.
- Patient issues: there is likely to be some interest from patients, carers and patient groups.
- Financial and overall NHS impact: Memantine represents an opening up of treatment to a new group of patients both in severity and aetiology. There are possible savings in the provision of institutional care where the long-term use of memantine may allow sufferers to stay in their own homes with support for longer.
The NIHR Horizon Scanning Centre, Department of Public Health, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics, School of Health and Population Sciences, University of Birmingham, 90 Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SP. United Kingdom. Tel: +44 121 414 7831, Fax: +44 121 2269 Email: c.packer@bham.ac.uk