'Critical Step': Drug Slows Cognitive Loss After Radiation (drug memantine)

'Critical Step': Drug Slows Cognitive Loss After Radiation


BOSTON, Massachusetts — A drug approved to treat Alzheimer's disease should be administered to cancer patients who receive whole-brain radiation therapy, according to a randomized controlled phase 3 trial.
When the drug, memantine (Namenda, Forest), is taken at the same time as radiation therapy, it helps preserve cognitive function in patients who are irradiated for brain metastases, said study coauthor Nadia N. Laack, MD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.....