Behavioral and Neural Response to Memantine in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2018-05-07
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
This study is a 12-week, randomized-controlled trial of memantine hydrochloride (Namenda) for
the treatment of social impairment in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The
investigators will also conduct pre- and post-treatment neuroimaging (functional magnetic
resonance imaging [fMRI] and hydrogen magnetic resonance spectroscopy [HMRS]) to assess
neural functional deficits in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder compared to healthy
volunteer adolescents. This pre- and post-neuroimaging will also be used to assess any
effects of memantine therapy on neural function in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.
The investigators hypothesize that short-term memantine monotherapy will be safe,
well-tolerated, and effective in improving the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder in
adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, the investigators hypothesize that
following memantine therapy, adolescents with autism spectrum disorder will exhibit a
decrease in glutamate (Glu) concentration in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and a change
towards normalization in altered functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex and
medial temporal lobes, consistent with improvement in social impairments in autism spectrum
disorder. The investigators hypothesize that compared to healthy volunteer participants,
participants with autism spectrum disorder will significantly differ on neuroimaging measures
at baseline but that following memantine therapy, the difference between autism spectrum
disorder and healthy volunteer neuroimaging data will decrease.