Memantine for fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Memantine, an NMDA receptor uncompetitive antagonist, is currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. Anecdotal reports have suggested that memantine may improve neurological and cognitive symptoms of individuals with the neurodegenerative disease, fragile X-associated tremor tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS); however, its efficacy and safety in this population have not been assessed in a controlled trial. METHOD: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, one-year trial in individuals with FXTAS ages 34–80 years. Primary outcome measures were the Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale (BDS) score and CATSYS intention tremor severity. RESULTS: Ninety-four participants were randomized from 205 screened; of those, 43 and 45 started memantine (titrated to 10 mg twice daily) and placebo, respectively. Thirty-four participants on memantine and 36 on placebo completed the one-year endpoint assessment (n=70). Intention-to-treat analysis showed that there was no improvement with respect to intention tremor severity (memantine vs. placebo: 1.05 ± 0.73 vs. 1.89 ± 2.19, p=0.047) and BDS score (16.12 ± 5.43 vs. 15.72 ± 3.93, p=0.727) at follow-up. Post hoc analyses of participants with early FXTAS (stage ≤ 3), late FXTAS (stage > 3) and different age groups (≤ 65 years and > 65 years) also indicated no significant improvement. More frequent mild adverse events (AEs) were observed in the placebo group, while more frequent moderate AEs occurred in the memantine group (p=0.007). CONCLUSION: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of memantine for individuals with FXTAS showed no benefit with respect to the selected outcome measures compared to placebo