Patient Leaflet Updated 09-May-2023 | Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (UK) Ltd
Memantine Hydrochloride 10mg and 20mg Film-Coated Tablets
Memantine hydrochloride 10 mg Film-Coated Tablets
Memantine hydrochloride 20 mg Film-Coated Tablets
Memantine hydrochloride
1. What Memantine hydrochloride is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you take Memantine hydrochloride
3. How to take Memantine hydrochloride
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Memantine hydrochloride
6. Contents of the pack and other information
Memantine hydrochloride contains the active substance memantine hydrochloride. It belongs to a group of medicines known as anti-dementia medicines.
Memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease is due to a disturbance of message signals in the brain. The brain contains so-called N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptors that are involved in transmitting nerve signals important in learning and memory. Memantine hydrochloride belongs to a group of medicines called NMDA-receptor antagonists. Memantine hydrochloride acts on these NMDA-receptors improving the transmission of nerve signals and the memory.
Memantine hydrochloride is used for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Memantine hydrochloride
In these situations the treatment should be carefully supervised, and the clinical benefit of Memantine hydrochloride reassessed by your doctor on a regular basis.
If you suffer from renal impairment (kidney problems), your doctor should closely monitor your kidney function and if necessary adapt the memantine hydrochloride doses accordingly.
The use of medicinal products called amantadine (for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease), ketamine (a substance generally used as an anaesthetic), dextromethorphan (generally used to treat cough) and other NMDA-antagonists at the same time should be avoided.
Memantine hydrochloride is not recommended for children and adolescents under the age of 18 years.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.
In particular, Memantine hydrochloride may change the effects of the following medicines and their dose may need to be adjusted by your doctor:
If you go into hospital, let your doctor know that you are taking Memantine hydrochloride.
You should inform your doctor if you have recently changed or intend to change your diet substantially (e.g. from normal diet to strict vegetarian diet) or if you are suffering from states of renal tubulary acidosis (RTA, an excess of acid-forming substances in the blood due to renal dysfunction (poor kidney function)) or severe infections of the urinary tract (structure that carries urine), as your doctor may need to adjust the dose of your medicine.
If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.
Pregnancy
The use of memantine hydrochloride in pregnant women is not recommended.
Breast-feeding
Women taking Memantine hydrochloride should not breast-feed.
Your doctor will tell you whether your illness allows you to drive and to use machines safely. Also, Memantine hydrochloride may change your reactivity, making driving or operating machinery inappropriate.
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
The recommended dose of Memantine hydrochloride for adults and older people is 20 mg once a day. In order to reduce the risk of side effects this dose is achieved gradually by the following daily treatment scheme:
week 1 half a 10 mg tablet
week 2 one 10 mg tablet
week 3 one and a half 10 mg tablets
week 4 and beyond two 10 mg tablets once a day
The usual starting dose is half a tablet once a day (1 x 5 mg) for the first week. This is increased to one tablet once a day (1 x 10 mg) in the second week and to 1 and a half tablets once a day in the third week. From the fourth week on, the usual dose is 2 tablets once a day (1 x 20 mg).
If you have impaired kidney function, your doctor will decide upon a dose that suits your condition. In this case, monitoring of your kidney function should be performed by your doctor at specified intervals.
Memantine hydrochloride should be administered orally once a day. To benefit from your medicine you should take it regularly every day at the same time of the day. The tablets should be swallowed with some water. The tablets can be taken with or without food.
Continue to take Memantine hydrochloride as long as it is of benefit to you. Your doctor should assess your treatment on a regular basis.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
In general, the observed side effects are mild to moderate.
Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):
Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):
Very Rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people):
Not known (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data):
Alzheimer’s disease has been associated with depression, suicidal ideation and suicide. These events have been reported in patients treated with Memantine hydrochloride.
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard. By reporting side effects you can help provide more in formation on the safety of this medicine.
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton and the blister after EXP. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
This medicinal product does not require any special storage conditions.
Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.
The active substance is memantine hydrochloride.
Memantine hydrochloride 10 mg film-coated tablets contain 10 mg memantine hydrochloride equivalent to 8.31 mg memantine.
Memantine hydrochloride 20 mg film-coated tablets contain 20 mg memantine hydrochloride equivalent to 16.62 mg memantine.
The other ingredients are microcrystalline cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, colloidal anhydrous silica and magnesium stearate, povidone (K-30), all in the tablet core; and hypromellose, macrogol 400, titanium dioxide (E171) and iron oxide yellow (E172) and red iron oxide (only in 20 mg film-coated tablet), all in the tablet coating.
Memantine hydrochloride 10 mg film-coated tablets are pale yellow to yellow, oval shaped film-coated tablets with breaking line and engravings “1 0” on one side and “R R” on the other side.
The tablet can be divided into equal doses.
Memantine hydrochloride 20 mg film-coated tablets are pale red to grey red, oval shaped film-coated tablets with breaking line and engravings “2 0” on one side and “R R” on the other side.
The tablet can be divided into equal doses.
Memantine hydrochloride film-coated tablets are available in blister packs of 7, 28, 42, 56, 98 and 112 tablets.
Not all pack sizes may be marketed.
This leaflet was last revised in 06/2022
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