A drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease may delay the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, preliminary data from a small trial suggest.
ALS, a fatal nerve disease in which people gradually lose control of their muscles, is incurable, with current treatments largely limited to reducing symptoms and supportive care.
In a randomized trial involving just 20 patients, ropinirole, sold as ReQuip by GlaxoSmithKline, was safe for ALS patients and prevented their disease from worsening for slightly more than half a year, on average, compared to a placebo, according to a report published on Thursday in Cell Stem Cell.
Patients who received ropinirole were able to be more physically active than those in the placebo group. They also showed slower rates of decline in mobility, muscle strength, and lung function, the researchers reported.
The researchers also found that nerve cells known as motor neurons from ALS patients showed distinct differences in structure, gene expression, and metabolism compared to motor neurons from healthy individuals. The GSK treatment reduced these differences, they said.
Study leader Hideyuki Okano of the Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo said a much larger trial is being planned to confirm the drug’s effectiveness.
Read more about ALS on Reuters.com
- Amylyx says European panel unlikely to endorse ALS drug
- U.S. FDA gives conditional approval to Biogen‘s gene therapy for ALS.
This newsletter was edited by Bill Berkrot.
