New research report on the effects of memantine on cognition

The New York Times magazine today revisits and updates its report on Dr Alberto Costa's research on the effects of the drug memantine on cognition in people with Down syndrome, with the publication of his clinical study on a group of 40 young adults with Down syndrome.   Can a Pill Make People With Down Syndrome Smarter? follows a NYT interview with Dr Costa, published just on a year ago, about his work in the field over 15 years. The new study does not provide definitive evidence of cognitive improvement, but does encourage researchers in the pursuit of further research into memantine.

Original article citation: 

Translational Psychiatry (2012) 2, e141; doi:10.1038/tp.2012.66

Published online 17 July 2012

Antagonism of NMDA receptors as a potential treatment for Down syndrome: a pilot randomized controlled trial, R Boada, C Hutaff-Lee, A Schrader, D Weitzenkamp, T A Benke, E J Goldson and A C S Costa