Mitochondrial Capacity Boost in ALS (MICABO-ALS) Trial
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Antioxidants.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Basic parameters: 21 years — 80 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Overview
The purpose of this research is to investigate the validity of a previous clinical trial named EH301, which showed beneficial effects of anti-oxidant therapies in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). If validated by this study, providing over-the-counter anti-oxidants would be a simple, low risk, low-cost approach to significantly slow or stop the progression of ALS, for which currently no effective treatment exists. It is currently thought that oxidative stress is a major cause of ALS. The study investigators are therefore planning to expand the original scope of the previous trial by including anti-oxidants at high doses that were not previously used. All of these compounds are considered safe.
Detailed description
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects muscle function throughout the body. Weakness and muscle shrinkage begin either in the face, arm, or leg. A clinical ALS hallmark is rapidly progressive weight loss. Also, respiration is usually affected late in the disease, and death typically occurs as a consequence of respiratory failure. The median survival after disease onset is approximately 3-4 years.
While there are now two FDA-approved agents for patients with ALS, there are no interventions that have had a meaningful impact on the natural course of this disease. Riluzole prolongs survival by up to 12 weeks. Edaravone improves some aspects of neurological function in a small subset of patients, but that was ineffective in clinical studies that included ALS patients at all stages of disease.
Past failures to identify effective therapies reflect the complexity of ALS pathogenesis, in that no single therapeutic target has been identified. Thus, single agent or dual combination therapies are unlikely to succeed. Given the truly rapid and devastating nature of ALS and that there are no effective treatments for ALS, one can argue that it is critical to devise a different approach. Until the exact mechanisms that lead to ALS are identified, it is necessary to employ polytherapy which includes new agents that show promise.
This study will lay further groundwork on methodology for performing more definite trials in ALS. The study of secondary biomarkers in ALS is significant because there are currently no molecular or biochemical biomarkers for assessing therapeutic efficacy of drug treatments in ALS clinical trials. By doing this study, the study investigators hope to learn that high-dose anti-oxidants would be a simple, low risk, low-cost approach to significantly slow or stop the progression of ALS, for which currently no effective treatment exists. Participation in this research will last about 13 months
Interventions
- Combination product Antioxidants
Over-the-counter anti-oxidants, namely vitamin E, NAc cysteine, L-cystine, Nicotinamide and Taurursodiol at defined doses
Primary outcome measures
- Measurement of serum NfL [Time frame: 12 months]
Secondary outcome measures (3)
- Measurement of functional decline in ALS [Time frame: 12 months]
- Frequency of serious adverse events and adverse events. [Time frame: 12 months]
- Survival analysis [Time frame: 12 months]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- A clinical diagnosis by a study investigator of laboratory-supported probable, probable, or definite ALS, according to a modified El Escorial criterion (Appendix 2).
- 21 to 80 years of age inclusive.
- If patients are taking riluzole for ALS, they must be on a stable dose for at least thirty days prior to the baseline visit.
- Willing and able to give signed informed consent that has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Exclusion criteria
- Diagnosis of other neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, etc.).
- Clinically significant history of unstable medical illness (unstable angina, advanced cancer, etc.) over the last 30 days.
- Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Limited mental capacity such that the patient cannot provide written informed consent or comply with evaluation procedures.
- History of recent alcohol or drug abuse or noncompliance with treatment or other experimental protocols. 6 Receipt of any investigational drug within the past 30 days.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- N/A
- Model
- Single group
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- VA North Texas Health Care System — Dallas
Publications
- Rowland LP, Shneider NA. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. N Engl J Med. 2001 May 31;344(22):1688-700. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200105313442207. No abstract available. PMID 11386269
- Akao Y, Maruyama W, Shimizu S, Yi H, Nakagawa Y, Shamoto-Nagai M, Youdim MB, Tsujimoto Y, Naoi M. Mitochondrial permeability transition mediates apoptosis induced by N-methyl(R)salsolinol, an endogenous neurotoxin, and is inhibited by Bcl-2 and rasagiline, N-propargyl-1(R)-aminoindan. J Neurochem. 2002 Aug;82(4):913-23. doi: 10.1046/j.1471-4159.2002.01047.x. PMID 12358797
- O'Toole O, Traynor BJ, Brennan P, Sheehan C, Frost E, Corr B, Hardiman O. Epidemiology and clinical features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Ireland between 1995 and 2004. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2008 Jan;79(1):30-2. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2007.117788. Epub 2007 Jul 18. PMID 17634215
- Logroscino G, Traynor BJ, Hardiman O, Chio A, Mitchell D, Swingler RJ, Millul A, Benn E, Beghi E; EURALS. Incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Europe. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2010 Apr;81(4):385-90. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2009.183525. Epub 2009 Aug 25. PMID 19710046
- Huisman MH, de Jong SW, van Doormaal PT, Weinreich SS, Schelhaas HJ, van der Kooi AJ, de Visser M, Veldink JH, van den Berg LH. Population based epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using capture-recapture methodology. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2011 Oct;82(10):1165-70. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2011.244939. Epub 2011 May 27. PMID 21622937
- Wittie M, Nelson LM, Usher S, Ward K, Benatar M. Utility of capture-recapture methodology to assess completeness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis case ascertainment. Neuroepidemiology. 2013;40(2):133-41. doi: 10.1159/000342156. Epub 2012 Oct 24. PMID 23095852
- van Es MA, Hardiman O, Chio A, Al-Chalabi A, Pasterkamp RJ, Veldink JH, van den Berg LH. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Lancet. 2017 Nov 4;390(10107):2084-2098. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31287-4. Epub 2017 May 25. PMID 28552366
- Brooks BR. El Escorial World Federation of Neurology criteria for the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Subcommittee on Motor Neuron Diseases/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis of the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Neuromuscular Diseases and the El Escorial "Clinical limits of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" workshop contributors. J Neurol Sci. 1994 Jul;124 Suppl:96-107. doi: PMID 7807156
Identifiers
NCT: NCT04244630 · 19-094