Memantine-induced speech problems in two patients with autistic disorder

Abstract

Stuttering is a complex speech disorder. There are two forms of stuttering: developmental stuttering and acquired stuttering. Developmental stuttering is a disorder of early childhood but acquired stuttering can develop at any age. Some medications can induce or deteriorate stuttering as an adverse effect. There are several reports of stuttering due to psychotropic drugs. Memantine, a glutamate antagonist used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, has also been studied for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. This report presents deterioration of stuttering and speech problem in two children with autistic disorder who were receiving memantine. Based on our knowledge, this is the first time these adverse drug reactions have been attributed to memantine. In conclusion clinicians should consider that speech problems including stuttering may be due to the consumption of memantine, especially, in children may be a side effect of memantine especially in children.

The Use of Medications Approved for Alzheimer’s Disease in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

“…A case report (LOE 4) of a 15-year-old boy with Asperger disorder, OCD, and Tourette disorder described the use of memantine (2.5 mg increasing to 10 mg/day) to treat the OCD symptoms and observed a significant reduction in OCD symptoms, including rituals and intrusive thoughts as well as improvements in social interaction; no significant adverse events were observed ( 71 ). One case study (LOE 4) reported stuttering and speech loss in two children with ASD who were taking memantine; in one child the speech improved with stopping the medication, while in the other child it improved while continuing the medication ( 72 ).…”

Drug-Induced Stuttering: Occurrence and Possible Pathways

“…In a study of 23 patients, olanzapine proved to be better than placebo at reducing symptoms of stuttering ( 10 ). Alaghband-Rad et al ( 11 ) describe two children with an autistic disorder in which (worsening of) stuttering occurred during memantine (a glutamate inhibitor) treatment. Mancano ( 12 ) describes a case of pregabalin (an antiepileptic interfering in the GABA pathway as well)-induced stuttering in a 31-year-old woman.…”

Study of the effect of memantine therapy on the treatment of dyslexia in children

“…RD is a combination of disabilities and problems that affected learning processes in several aspects and accompanied with problems in processing speed, short-term memory, visual, auditory, and speech perception and sequences, and motor skills. [ 29 ] There are limited studies that evaluated the effects of education and medication on all domains of reading and dyslexia. Similar studies evaluated some parts of these abilities, but the Nama test which was used in this study evaluated all aspects of disabilities mentioned above.…”