Characteristics of included studies (including baseline characteristics of participants)
| Trial | MMSE inclusion range (mean score) | Trial duration (weeks) | Total no. of patients | No. of patients in placebo + AChEI and memantine + AChEI groups | Mean age | Mean cognitive score (score used) | Mean function score (score used) | Mean behaviour/mood score (NPI) | Outcomes measured | Scores used | |
| MD-02/Tariot et al (2004)9 | Moderate-to-severe AD, 5–14 (10.0) | 24 | 403 | Placebo + AChEI | 203 | 75.5 | 80.0 (SIB) | 35.8 (ADCS-ADL19) | 13.4 |
| CIBIC-plus, SIB, ADCS-ADL19, NPI |
| Memantine + AChEI | 201 | 75.5 | 78.0 (SIB) | 35.5 (ADCS-ADL19) | 13.4 | ||||||
| MD-12/Porsteinsson et al (2008)10 | Mild-to-moderate AD, 10–22 (16.9) | 24 | 433 | Placebo + AChEI | 216 | 76.0 | 26.8 (ADAS-Cog) | 54.8 (ADCS-ADL23) | 12.3 |
| CIBIC-plus, ADAS-Cog, ADCS-ADL23 NPI |
| Memantine + AChEI | 217 | 74.9 | 27.9 (ADAS-Cog) | 54.7 (ADCS-ADL23) | 11.8 | ||||||
| MD-12/Porsteinsson et al (2008)10—subgroup with moderate disease, from Winblad et al (2007)11 | Moderate AD | 24 | 302 | Placebo + AChEI | 148 | Not known* | Not known* | Not known* | Not known* | ||
| Memantine + AChEI | 154 | Not known* | Not known* | Not known* | Not known* | ||||||
| MD-50/Grossberg et al (2008)15 | Moderate-to-severe AD, 3–14 (10.8) | 24 | 697 | Placebo + AChEI | 355 | Not known† | Not known† | Not known† | Not known† |
| CIBIC-plus, SIB, ADCS-ADL19, NPI |
| Memantine + AChEI | 342 | Not known† | Not known† | Not known† | Not known† | ||||||
The global score, CIBIC-plus, is a measure of change from baseline, so baseline scores are not given as they are not applicable.
↵* The data from the subgroup of patients with moderate disease is taken from the meta-analysis by Winblad et al (2007),11 which does not present the baseline characteristics for this subgroup.
↵† The baseline characteristics of patients in this unpublished study are not given.
AChEI, acetylcholinesterase inhibitor; AD, Alzheimer's disease.