Memor is memantine 10 mg, prescribed for moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. It does not stop or reverse dementia. What it can do is modestly slow the decline in memory, daily function and behaviour for a period, which for some families is worth having.
What is Memor?
Memor contains memantine hydrochloride 10 mg. The South African Medicine Price Registry lists it as a Schedule 4 tablet.
Memantine works differently from the other dementia medicines. It is an NMDA receptor antagonist, acting on glutamate — the brain’s main excitatory signalling chemical.
Glutamate is essential to learning and memory, but in Alzheimer’s disease the signalling becomes persistently overactive. That constant background stimulation is thought to damage neurons over time and, just as importantly, to drown out the meaningful signals — like trying to hear a conversation in a room where everyone is shouting. Memantine dampens the excess without blocking normal signalling, which is why it can improve function rather than simply sedating.
That mechanism sets it apart from donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine, which increase acetylcholine instead. The two approaches are different enough that they are often used together in more advanced disease.
Memantine is started low and increased gradually, typically over four weeks, which is why a treatment plan may involve half tablets or a rising dose. That titration is standard and reduces dizziness and confusion at the start.
What is Memor commonly used for?
- Moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. This is its main use. In milder disease, a cholinesterase inhibitor such as donepezil is usually tried first.
- Combined treatment, alongside donepezil or another cholinesterase inhibitor, in more advanced disease.
- Behavioural symptoms of dementia — agitation and aggression — where some evidence suggests benefit, and where the alternative is often an antipsychotic carrying substantially greater risk in older people.
- Vascular dementia and other dementias, sometimes, though the evidence is weaker and this is a specialist decision.
Being clear about what to expect matters more here than with most medicines, because expectations set at the start determine whether a family judges treatment a success or a failure.
It does not cure or stop Alzheimer’s disease. The underlying process continues.
The benefit is modest. On average, treated people decline somewhat more slowly for a period — measurable in trials, sometimes visible at home, and sometimes not obviously visible at all.
The gains are often practical rather than dramatic. Families more often describe better engagement, less agitation, or managing a familiar task a while longer, than they describe restored memory.
It should be reviewed. If there is no discernible benefit after several months, that is worth discussing rather than continuing indefinitely. Equally, continued decline while on treatment does not automatically mean the medicine is doing nothing — the comparison is with how things would have gone without it, which nobody can observe directly.
The honest framing is that memantine buys a little time and a little function. For a family caring for someone at home, a little of either can genuinely matter.
How Memor fits into this medicine category
| Group | Examples | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| NMDA receptor antagonists | Memantine (Memor) | Moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease |
| Cholinesterase inhibitors | Donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine | Mild to moderate disease; often continued later |
| Antidepressants | Amitriptyline (Trepiline), SSRIs | Depression, which is common and treatable in dementia |
| Sleep agents | Zolpidem and related medicines | Short-term insomnia; used cautiously in older people |
| Antipsychotics | Risperidone, quetiapine | Severe agitation or psychosis; significant risks in dementia |
Two things belong alongside any of these: treating the treatable — pain, infection, constipation, poor hearing or vision, depression, and medicines that are themselves clouding thinking — and supporting the carer. Both do more for day-to-day life than any tablet. See the mental health and neurology medicines hub.
What to check before using Memor
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if the person taking it:
- Has kidney disease or reduced kidney function. This is the most important check — memantine is cleared by the kidneys and the dose must be reduced when they are impaired.
- Has epilepsy or a history of seizures.
- Has had a recent heart attack, heart failure or uncontrolled high blood pressure.
- Takes amantadine, ketamine or dextromethorphan (found in some cough mixtures) — these act on the same receptor and should not be combined.
- Takes medicines that alkalinise the urine, including sodium bicarbonate and some urinary alkalinisers, which raise memantine levels.
- Takes dopaminergic medicines for Parkinson’s disease, anticholinergics, antipsychotics, warfarin or hydrochlorothiazide.
- Has a urinary tract infection or urinary problems, which can alter memantine levels and also worsen confusion in their own right.
Practical points for carers:
- Follow the titration schedule exactly. Increasing too quickly causes dizziness and confusion.
- Take it at the same time each day, with or without food.
- Do not double up on a missed dose — skip it and continue as normal.
- Use a pill organiser or dosette box, and keep medicines where the person cannot take extra doses unnoticed. Accidental double-dosing is one of the most common problems in dementia care.
- Keep a list of every medicine, including supplements and traditional remedies, and take it to every appointment.
- Tell any new prescriber about the dementia diagnosis — many common medicines worsen confusion.
Possible cautions and when to ask a pharmacist or doctor
Common effects include dizziness, headache, drowsiness, constipation, raised blood pressure, and sometimes confusion or hallucinations. Most occur early or after a dose increase and often settle.
Seek medical advice promptly for:
- A sudden worsening of confusion, particularly over hours or days. This is far more often caused by infection, dehydration, constipation, pain or a new medicine than by the dementia advancing — and all of those are treatable. A sudden change deserves a same-day assessment, not a wait.
- New or worse hallucinations, agitation or aggression.
- Seizures.
- Falls, or marked unsteadiness.
- Difficulty passing urine, or signs of a urinary infection.
- Swelling of the face, lips or tongue, difficulty breathing, or a widespread rash — get emergency help.
Contact the doctor if there is no apparent benefit after several months, if side effects are troubling, if swallowing tablets is becoming difficult, or if the person’s needs are changing.
And a word for whoever is reading this on someone else’s behalf: ask for help before it is urgent. Dementia care is demanding, and support — respite, day programmes, home care, carer support groups, and a frank conversation with the doctor about what lies ahead — makes a real difference, and it is easier to arrange early than in a crisis.
Related medicine guides
Frequently asked questions
What are Memor tablets used for? Moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. It contains memantine 10 mg.
Does it cure dementia? No. It can modestly slow decline in memory, daily function and behaviour for a period. The underlying disease continues.
How long before we see a difference? Weeks to a few months, and the change is often subtle — better engagement or coping with a task a while longer, rather than restored memory.
Can it be taken with donepezil? Yes. They work by different mechanisms and are often combined in more advanced disease.
Why is the dose increased slowly? Building up over about four weeks reduces dizziness and confusion at the start.
What if a dose is missed? Skip it and continue with the next as normal. Do not take two together.
Why has confusion suddenly got worse? A sudden change usually has another cause — infection, dehydration, constipation, pain or a new medicine. Get it assessed the same day rather than assuming the dementia has progressed.
How long is it continued? Usually as long as it seems to help. It should be reviewed periodically with the doctor.