Memantine for the Treatment of Cognitive Impairment in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2022-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
A phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) identified an association between a variant in the
human gene for the N2A subunit of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, GRIN2A, and
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in this gene
encodes for increased NMDA receptor activity. Based on the potential function of the
associated SNP and published literature, alterations in SNP function signaling may underlie a
cluster of symptoms. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and
efficacy of memantine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, in a precise patient subset with SLE.
Participants will complete a full 14-week clinical trial, receiving either memantine or a
placebo. Participants' blood will be drawn to test for various antibodies as well as organ
function. Patients' urine will also be collected to assess organ function and pregnancy for
females at a number of specific time points. The overall goal is to develop a safe and
inexpensive therapeutic approach to reduce debilitating cognitive symptoms in a precisely
selected SLE sub-population.