Glutamate receptors as a target for Alzheimer's disease--are clinical results supporting the hope?

Several years after the introduction of cholinergic drugs in Alzheimer's disease therapy, other approaches for symptomatic and also disease-modifying pharmacotherapy are progressing in their development. Among these, the NMDA antagonist memantine represents the most advanced and promising agent, gifted with many years of clinical experience in Germany. This paper provides an overview of both, the novel pharmacological background and recent clinical evidence in dementia. Memantine was recently recommended for central European approval.