Via Scoop.it – ALS Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Results from a recent clinical trial into motor neurone disease (MND), involving people with MND in England have been announced and show that lithium carbonate is ineffective at treating the disease. The trial, known as the ‘LiCALS trial’, was co-funded by the Department of Health and the MND Association. It tested for safety and effectiveness (efficacy) of lithium in 215 patients with ALS* across England. While it has been shown to be safe and well tolerated, it did not demonstrate a significant increase in survival, compared to patients receiving the placebo (dummy drug) together with riluzole. The lithium clinical trial principal investigator, Prof Ammar Al-Chalabi from King’s College London said: We are most grateful to all of the participants for taking part in the LiCALS study. Although the results are disappointing, it is thanks to the dedication and commitment of those that took part in LiCALS that the trial has allowed the development of a trials network of ten centres in the UK, which will be of great benefit for rapidly testing future therapies. For that we are extremely grateful.
Via www.mndassociation.org
ALS Research News 