Dementia Support Line
COBALT: A trial to investigate the effect of memantine on overall health and functioning in people with Lewy body dementia
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The Clinical Trial Finder is for information only. To join a clinical trial you must meet the eligibility criteria set by the study and the research team will discuss this with you.
Trial description
What is the aim of the study?
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD) are related complex illnesses with a wide range of distressing symptoms. People with DLB/PDD have worse quality of life, more complex symptoms, higher care costs, and are more sensitive to medications than people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors (AChEI) are commonly used medicines that can help people with DLB/PDD by improving day to day functioning and thinking abilities. Another drug which might help is memantine, used to treat moderate to severe confusion in Alzheimer’s disease. It may help to improve memory, awareness and the ability to perform daily functions. However, it is not clear if adding memantine to AChEI is beneficial for people with DLB/PDD.
The aim of this trial is to find out if adding memantine to AChEI improves overall health and functioning for people with Dementia with Lewy bodies or Parkinson’s disease dementia.
What will participants be asked to do during the study?
Participants will need to have a relative or carer willing to support the participant’s participation in the study and who is able to answer questions about the participant’s condition.
People in the study will be randomly assigned, like flipping a coin, to receive either memantine or a placebo/dummy medication. The medication will be in the form of tablets taken once a day.
Find more information about why studies use randomisation and placebo controls.
During the study, participants will be asked to:
- take their allocated medication once a day as prescribed by the study doctor.
- complete a range of assessments and questionnaires about their health at both the start (baseline) and 26 weeks. These assessments may take 2-3 hours to complete. Breaks can be taken during the visit, including extended breaks of up to 7 days
- provide regular updates about their health while taking part in the study.
Eligibility criteria
You may be able to take part if you have:
- a diagnosis or features consistent with probable DLB or PDD
- had no recent changes in your PDD or DLB medication
- a relative or carer who knows your condition well and is able to complete assessments on your condition
- sufficient knowledge of English to understand the trial and complete trial assessments.
You may not be able to take part if you:
- are currently taking part in another clinical trial
- have another medical condition that may affect participation in the trial (this will be discussed with the research team)
- are already taking memantine for your condition.
If you're not sure if you can take part in this study but would like to, please contact us by making an enquiry. A member of the research team will talk with you and help find out if the study is right for you.
Clinical trial team
Age range
Recruitment start
Disease type
Mechanism of action
Trial locations
Length of participation
Eligibility criteria
You may be able to take part if you have:
- a diagnosis or features consistent with probable DLB or PDD
- had no recent changes in your PDD or DLB medication
- a relative or carer who knows your condition well and is able to complete assessments on your condition
- sufficient knowledge of English to understand the trial and complete trial assessments.
You may not be able to take part if you:
- are currently taking part in another clinical trial
- have another medical condition that may affect participation in the trial (this will be discussed with the research team)
- are already taking memantine for your condition.
If you're not sure if you can take part in this study but would like to, please contact us by making an enquiry. A member of the research team will talk with you and help find out if the study is right for you.