Edaravone

[indigosd]

Just found this and wondered if anyone else has read, seen or heard about this study and what it means?



Exp Neurol. 2008 Oct;213(2):448-55. Epub 2008 Jul 31.

Treatment with edaravone, initiated at symptom onset, slows motor decline and decreases SOD1 deposition in ALS mice.
Ito H, Wate R, Zhang J, Ohnishi S, Kaneko S, Ito H, Nakano S, Kusaka H.

Department of Neurology, Kansai Medical University, Moriguchi, Osaka, Japan. [email protected]

Comment in:

Exp Neurol. 2009 Jun;217(2):235-6.

Edaravone is a free-radical scavenger, an agent being widely used for cerebral ischemia in Japan. To evaluate its efficacy for possible treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we performed a randomized blind trial in ALS model mice. After identification of the clinical onset in each female G93A mutant SOD1 transgenic mouse, we intraperitoneally administered multiple doses of edaravone to the mice and observed their motor symptoms. We also counted the number of lumbar motoneurons, determined the 3-nitrotyrosine/tyrosine ratio, and evaluated the abnormal SOD1 aggregation in the spinal cord at the 10th day after the edaravone injection. Edaravone significantly slowed the motor decline of the transgenic mice. The remaining motoneurons were significantly preserved in the higher-dose edaravone-administered group, and the 3-nitrotyrosine/tyrosine ratios were reduced dose-dependently. Intriguingly, the area of abnormal SOD1 deposition in the spinal cord was significantly decreased in the higher-dose edaravone-administered group. Our results indicate that edaravone was effective to slow symptom progression and motor neuron degeneration in the ALS model mice. These favorable actions might be attributable to the yet unidentified mechanism responsible for reducing the deposition of mutant SOD1.

PMID: 18718468 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

[brooksea]

I guess it must of fallen through on subsequent trials? Sigh...just like all the rest.

 

[halfin]

Actually it looks like Edaravone is the same as MCI-186 and there have been a series of clinical trials in Japan using this on ALS patients. A phase 3 trial was scheduled for completion this year:

Expanded Controlled Study of Safety and Efficacy of MCI-186 in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

I found a description of the phase 2 results in another paper:

An antioxidant being studied in humans is MCI-186 (edaravone), a free radical scavenger with potential effects on mitochondrial function.[8][21] An open-label phase II study of daily intravenous administration of MCI-186 in 20 ALS patients reported a significant improvement in scores on the revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) during the 6-month treatment period compared with the 6 months before administration of MCI-186.[21] Treatment with MCI-186 also resulted in a marked reduction in cerebrospinal fluid levels of 3-nitrotyrosine, a marker of oxidative stress, suggesting that antioxidant therapy may achieve some success in slowing disease progression. Clinical trials are actively recruiting in Japan but not yet in North America.[22]

So it sounds like this drug may have some promise eventually.

 

[halfin]

My wife just got a call from a researcher in Japan who had seen some of the press articles about the recent ALS fundraiser she organized. This researcher says she is going to be doing phone interviews with American PALS and if she could talk to me after the holidays. She is part of a group gathering data to prepare for clinical trials in the U.S. of their antioxidant therapy for ALS, after successful trials in Japan. I am guessing that it is the same substance discussed in this thread, Edaravone (MCI-186). I don't think interviewing individual PALS would be a common step in preparing for such a trial, though. Maybe they are trying to establish information about the potential market?

 

[Al]

Orrrr they could be collecting names for a sales pitch. I know, I'm paranoid. LOL. Anyway Hal, keep us in the loop.

AL.