Abstract

In the United States and Europe, the drug Memantine, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves a partial antagonist of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Memantine may also be useful in treating other neurological disorders, such as dementia and Parkinson's disease (PD). As a neuroprotectant, memantine has been shown to have a favourable effect on both neurodegenerative and vascular processes in animal studies. Memantine—a partial NMDAR antagonist—blocks NMDA glutamate receptors to regulate the glutamatergic system and ease cognitive and memory issues while large quantities of glutamate induce neurodegeneration. For memantine to be effective, it must connect with the NMDAR in an uncompetitive manner, allowing the receptor's physiological function to be preserved while also ensuring that memantine is safe and has a low adverse-event profile. It's possible that memantine might be beneficial in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, since NMDAR antagonism has been implicated in the disease's pathophysiology, and no other medicine is effective enough to replace L-dopa. In spite of its mild side effects, memantine has only been demonstrated to produce a slight reduction in AD and VD, and hence attempts are being made to build new and more powerful memantine-based medications to perhaps provide higher effectiveness. In June 2021, the FDA authorized Aducanumab for medicinal use in the United States. The first-of-its-kind therapy for Alzheimer's disease and the first novel treatment for Alzheimer's since 2003 have been authorised by the FDA.

Description