Akatinol memantine in Alzheimer's disease: clinical and immunological correlations

16 patients with Alzheimer's disease were treated with akatinol memantine. The levels of production of interleukin-1 (IL-1) in: lymphocyte culture wer e evaluated both before and after the treatment that lasted for 2-4,5 month s. Before the therapy a significant (p<0.05) increase in the production of IL-1 was observed in patients with mild and moderate dementia, with early o nset of the disease and with the duration of the disease up to 9 years as c ompared with a control group (24 healthy individuals). After the treatment the production of IL-1 was decreased in patients with moderate dementia, wi th early onset, and with hereditary form of the disease. Decrease of the le vel of IL-1 production after the treatment corresponded to improvement of t he cognitive functions of the patient. In cases of unsatisfactory treatment (without any improvement of a clinical state) IL-1 production was at highe r levels (p<0.05) as compared with the control values. It is suggested that initial high level of IL-1 production could serve as a predictor of effici ency of therapy with akatinol memantine in patients with early onset of Alz heimer's disease.