Basic information about memantine and its treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other clinical applications

Memantine is a noncompetitive moderate-affinity strong voltage-dependent N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist. It has been used to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD) since 1989. In 2018, it became the second most commonly used drug for the treatment of dementia in the world. AD is nonreversible, and memantine can only relieve the symptoms of AD but not cure it. Over the past half-century, memantine's research and clinical application have been extensively developed. In this review, the basic composition of memantine, the mechanism and limitations of memantine in the treatment of AD, memantine combination therapy, comparison of memantine with other drugs for AD, and clinical studies of memantine in other diseases are reviewed to provide a valuable reference for further research and application of memantine for the treatment of AD.