Memantine (10mg BID) for the Frontal and Temporal Subtypes of Frontotemporal Dementia

Exclusion criteria

• . Insufficient fluency in English to complete neuropsychological and functional assessments.
• . Concurrent Motor Neuron Disease judged by investigator to have bulbar or upper extremity impairments at baseline that would interfere with neuropsychological assessment, or that are expected to lead to such impairments within one month.
• . Exclusion criteria as listed in Neary criteria. Diagnosis of progressive nonfluent aphasia by Neary criteria.
• . Use of memantine within 4 weeks prior to randomization.
• . Evidence of other neurological or psychiatric disorders which preclude diagnosis of FTD (including, but not limited to, stroke, Parkinson's disease, any psychotic disorder, severe bipolar or unipolar depression, seizure disorder, or head injury with loss of consciousness) within the past year.
• . Concurrent treatment with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, antipsychotic agents, mood stabilizers (valproate or lithium) or benzodiazepines (other than temazepam or zolpidem), or use of any of these agents within 4 weeks prior to randomization. Atypical antipsychotic agents may be started after the baseline visit if felt to be medically necessary by the investigator and will be recorded as a secondary outcome measure.
• . History of alcohol or substance abuse within 1 year prior to screening, if deemed clinically significant by investigator.
• . Any current malignancy, or any clinically significant hematological, endocrine, cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, gastrointestinal or neurological disease. If the condition has been stable for at least the past year and is judged by the investigator not to interfere with the patient's participation in the study, the patient may be included.