Neramexane for Tinnitus

A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Dose-Ranging Trial to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety of a NMDA Antagonist for Oral Administration in Patients With Subjective Tinnitus

Tinnitus is commonly referred to as "ringing of the ears" - the perception of sounds in the absence of an external source of acoustic signals. Tinnitus may represent a severe disease and symptoms include depression, sleeping difficulties, decreased sound tolerance and hearing loss. One hypothesis is that tinnitus is caused by an increased activity of NMDA glutamate and dysfunctional alpha9/alpha10 acetylcholine receptors in the inner ear and central nervous system. Neramexane may alleviate tinnitus symptoms due to its NMDA and alpha9/alpha10 nACh receptor blocking activity. The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of Neramexane compared with placebo in patients with subjective tinnitus.

Comparison of adverse events (type, severity, seriousness, frequency, relatedness) between treatment arms

Inclusion Criteria: main inclusion criterion: persistent, subjective, uni- or bilateral tinnitus Exclusion Criteria: main exclusion criterion: intermittent or pulsatile tinnitus

Suckfull M, Althaus M, Ellers-Lenz B, Gebauer A, Gortelmeyer R, Jastreboff PJ, Moebius HJ, Rosenberg T, Russ H, Wirth Y, Krueger H. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neramexane in patients with moderate to severe subjective tinnitus. BMC Ear Nose Throat Disord. 2011 Jan 11;11:1. doi: 10.1186/1472-6815-11-1.

Gortelmeyer R, Schmidt J, Suckfull M, Jastreboff P, Gebauer A, Kruger H, Wittmann W. Assessment of tinnitus-related impairments and disabilities using the German THI-12: sensitivity and stability of the scale over time. Int J Audiol. 2011 Aug;50(8):523-9. doi: 10.3109/14992027.2011.578591.