And Parkinson’s drug (ropinirole) may benefit people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Sla. In fact, it slows down the progression of the disease, giving benefits to the muscles for six months: this is revealed by a first clinical trial conducted by Hideyuki Okano of the Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo. The findings were disclosed in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The drug delayed disease progression by an average of 27.9 weeks.
ALS and Parkinson’s drug
Still without a cure, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a disease of motor neurons (neurons that control muscles) that causes people to gradually lose muscle control. The team involved 20 patients who, on average, had been living with ALS for 20 months. The study was conducted in a double-blind fashion for the first 24 weeks, i.e. neither the patients nor the doctors knew who received ropinirole and who received placebo.
Then, for the next 24 weeksall were knowingly administered ropinirole. The team monitored a variety of parameters up to 4 weeks after the end of treatment: for example, changes in patients’ self-reported physical activity and ability to eat and drink independently, physical activity data from wearable devices and changes in mobility, muscle strength and lung function.
What the study says
“We have found that ropinirole it is safe and tolerated for patients and holds promise in helping them support daily activity and muscle strength,” say the authors. Patients who received ropinirole during both phases of the study were more physically active than the placebo group. They also showed a slower decline in mobility, muscle strength and lung function, and longer survival. The benefits of ropinirole over placebo became increasingly apparent as the study progressed.
“With this trial we have demonstrated that it is safe to use in patients with ALS and that it potentially has a certain therapeutic effect, but to confirm its efficacy we need further studies and we are now planning a phase 3 trial for the near future” , conclude the authors.