What does this research mean for the field?

Memantine does not improve functional decline, respiratory function, or survival in adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and is associated with an increased risk of adverse events. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.SYNTHESIS. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To systematically assess the safety and therapeutic efficacy of the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine in adults diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

September 10, 2026Journal of Neural TransmissionOpen Access

Efficacy and safety of memantine in adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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To systematically assess the safety and therapeutic efficacy of the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine in adults diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis adhering to PRISMA 2020 guidelines across PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science.
Identified and analyzed 3 randomized controlled trials encompassing 706 adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, evaluating risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool.
Memantine was associated with a higher risk of total adverse events (RR 1.19; 95% CI 1.09–1.30) and a borderline increase in serious adverse events (RR 1.52; 95% CI 1.00–2.31).
Memantine significantly lowered headache incidence compared to placebo (RR 0.43; 95% CI 0.19–0.96), with no significant differences observed for constipation, falls, dizziness, treatment discontinuation, or all-cause mortality.
Functional decline (measured by ALSFRS-R) and respiratory decline (measured by FVC) could not be quantitatively pooled due to reporting heterogeneity and showed no consistent clinical benefit.

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Implication

Systematic review and meta-analysis finds increased adverse events and no functional benefit from memantine in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, suggesting lack of therapeutic efficacy.

Cite This Study

Hamzeh et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa27aca58559d80afc73840 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-026-03281-2

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Implication

Systematic review and meta-analysis finds increased adverse events and no functional benefit from memantine in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, suggesting lack of therapeutic efficacy.

Efficacy and safety of memantine in adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Efficacy and safety of memantine in adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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