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David

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Date: Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Here is an update on the trial from Katie Moisse, PhD:

A clinical trial of ceftriaxone is still enrolling patients at 53 sites in North America, including ones in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Halifax. The trial will determine whether ceftriaxone, an antibiotic already approved for the treatment of certain infections, can slow disease progression and extend the lives of people with ALS.

Laboratory studies have suggested that ceftriaxone protects motor neurons by diminishing levels of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, which, at high concentrations, can injure nearby cells.

The Phase III trial, which opened in May 2009, is a collaborative effort between the Canadian ALS Research Network (CALS) and Northeast ALS Consortium, which are seeking to enroll 600 patients for at least 12 months of treatment with either intravenous ceftriaxone (two thirds of patients) or a placebo (one third of patients). Routine tests will assess patients’ strength and vital capacity, the volume of air exhaled after a deep breath.

The trial follows a Phase I study, which confirmed that ceftriaxone reaches concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid high enough to elicit a benefit, and a phase II study that established the drug’s safety and tolerability when taken daily for at least 20 weeks.

To be included in the trial, patients must have had ALS symptoms for no more than three years, have a vital capacity of at least 60 percent of normal, and have someone available to help administer the treatment (or the placebo) twice a day.

Lorne Zinman, MD, director of the ALS Clinic at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, is the Canadian principal investigator. For more information on the trial contact Jane McKinley at 416-480-6860 or [email protected].
 
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I spoke to Jane about my dad particiapting in the study but I don't know if its going to improve his condition. Are you currently on the trial? Let me know how is going..
thanks
alysha
 
David doesn't have ALS but owns this site.

AL.
 
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