Ebixa 10 mg Film-Coated Tablets

Read all of this leaflet carefully before you start taking this medicine

• Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
• If you have any further questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
• This medicine has been prescribed for you. Do not pass it on to others. It may harm them, even if their symptoms are the same as yours.
• If any of the side effects gets serious, or if you notice any side effects not listed in this leaflet, please tell your doctor or pharmacist.

In this leaflet

1. What Ebixa is and what it is used for
2. Before you take Ebixa
3. How to take Ebixa
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Ebixa
6. Further information

How does Ebixa work

Ebixa belongs to a group of medicines known as anti-dementia medicines.

Memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease is due to a disturbance of message signals in the brain. The brain contains so-called N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptors that are involved in transmitting nerve signals important in learning and memory. Ebixa belongs to a group of medicines called NMDA-receptor antagonists. Ebixa acts on these NMDA-receptors improving the transmission of nerve signals and the memory.

What is Ebixa used for

Ebixa is used for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease.

Do not take Ebixa

• if you are allergic (hypersensitive) to memantine hydrochloride or any of the other ingredients of Ebixa film-coated tablets (see section 6).

Take special care with Ebixa

• if you have a history of epileptic seizures
• if you have recently experienced a myocardial infarction (heart attack), or if you are suffering from congestive heart failure or from an uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure).

In these situations the treatment should be carefully supervised, and the clinical benefit of Ebixa reassessed by your doctor on a regular basis.

If you suffer from renal impairment (kidney problems), your doctor should closely monitor your kidney function and if necessary adapt the memantine doses accordingly.

The use of medicinal products called amantadine (for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease), ketamine (a substance generally used as an anaesthetic), dextromethorphan (generally used to treat cough) and other NMDA-antagonists at the same time should be avoided.

Ebixa is not recommended for children and adolescents under the age of 18 years.

Using other medicines

Please tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription.

In particular, Ebixa may change the effects of the following medicines and their dose may need to be adjusted by your doctor:

amantadine, ketamine, dextromethorphan

dantrolene, baclofen

cimetidine, ranitidine, procainamide, quinidine, quinine, nicotine

hydrochlorothiazide (or any combination with hydrochlorothiazide)

anticholinergics (substances generally used to treat movement disorders or intestinal cramps)

anticonvulsants (substances used to prevent and relieve seizures)

barbiturates (substances generally used to induce sleep)

dopaminergic agonists (substances such as L-dopa, bromocriptine)

neuroleptics (substances used in the treatment of mental disorders)

oral anticoagulants

If you go into hospital, let your doctor know that you are taking Ebixa.

Taking Ebixa with food and drink

You should inform your doctor if you have recently changed or intend to change your diet substantially (e.g. from normal diet to strict vegetarian diet) or if you are suffering from states of renal tubulary acidosis (RTA, an excess of acid-forming substances in the blood due to renal dysfunction (poor kidney function)) or severe infections of the urinary tract (structure that carries urine), as your doctor may need to adjust the dose of your medicine.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking any medicine.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. The use of memantine in pregnant women is not recommended.

Women taking Ebixa should not breast-feed.

Driving and using machines

Your doctor will tell you whether your illness allows you to drive and to use machines safely. Also, Ebixa may change your reactivity, making driving or operating machinery inappropriate.

Dosage

The recommended dose of Ebixa for adults and elderly patients is 20 mg once a day. In order to reduce the risk of side effects this dose is achieved gradually by the following daily treatment scheme:

week 1 half a 10 mg tablet

week 2 one 10 mg tablet

week 3 one and a half 10 mg tablets

week 4 and beyond two 10 mg tablets once a day

The usual starting dose is half a tablet once a day (1x 5 mg) for the first week. This is increased to one tablet once a day (1x 10 mg) in the second week and to 1 and a half tablets once a day in the third week. From the fourth week on, the usual dose is 2 tablets once a day (1x 20 mg).

Dosage in patients with impaired kidney function

If you have impaired kidney function, your doctor will decide upon a dose that suits your condition. In this case, monitoring of your kidney function should be performed by your doctor at specified intervals.

Administration

Ebixa should be administered orally once a day. To benefit from your medicine you should take it regularly every day at the same time of the day. The tablets should be swallowed with some water. The tablets can be taken with or without food.

Duration of treatment

Continue to take Ebixa as long as it is of benefit to you. Your doctor should assess your treatment on a regular basis.

If you take more Ebixa than you should

• In general, taking too much Ebixa should not result in any harm to you. You may experience increased symptoms as described in section 4. “Possible side effects”.
• If you take a large overdose of Ebixa, contact your doctor or get medical advice, as you may need medical attention.

If you forget to take Ebixa

• If you find you have forgotten to take your dose of Ebixa, wait and take your next dose at the usual time.
• Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose.

What Ebixa contains

The active substance is memantine hydrochloride. Each film-coated tablet contains 10 mg memantine hydrochloride equivalent to 8.31 mg memantine.

The other ingredients are microcrystalline cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, colloidal anhydrous silica and magnesium stearate, all in the tablet core; and hypromellose, macrogol 400, titanium dioxide (E171) and iron oxide yellow (E172), all in the tablet coating.

What Ebixa looks like and contents of the pack

Ebixa film-coated tablets are presented as pale yellow to yellow, oval shaped film-coated tablet with breaking line and engravings “1 0” on one side and “M M” on the other side.

Ebixa film-coated tablets are available in blister packs of 14 tablets, 28 tablets, 30 tablets, 42 tablets, 49 x 1 tablets, 50 tablets, 56 tablets, 56 x 1 tablets, 70 tablets, 84 tablets, 98 tablets, 98 x 1 tablets, 100 tablets, 100 x 1 tablets, 112 tablets, 980 (10 x 98) tablets or 1000 (20 x 50) tablets. The pack sizes 49 x 1, 56 x 1, 98 x 1 and 100 x 1 film-coated tablets are presented in unit dose blister.

Not all pack sizes may be marketed.

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