NEUROLOGY 1996;47:86S-92S
© 1996 American Academy of Neurology
Clinical trials of riluzole in patients with ALS
R. G. Miller, MD,
J. P. Bouchard, MD,
P. Duquette, MD,
A. Eisen, MD,
D. Gelinas, MD,
Y. Harati, MD,
T. L. Munsat, MD,
L. Powe, MD,
J. Rothstein, MD,
P. Salzman, PhD and
R. L. Sufit, MD
the ALS/Riluzole Study Group-II*; *See Appendix on page 90 for the participating institutions and principal investigators.
From the Department of Neurology (Drs. Miller and Gelinas), California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA; the Department of Neurological Sciences (Dr. Bouchard), Hospital de L'Enfant-Jesus, Quebec City, Canada; the Department of Neurology (Dr. Duquette), Hospital Notre-Dame, Montreal, Canada; the Neuromuscular Disease Unit (Dr. Eisen), Vancouver Hospital and Health Science Center, Vancouver, Canada; the Department of Neurology (Dr. Harati), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX; the Department of Neurology (Dr. Munsat), New England Medical Center, Boston, MA; Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (Drs. Powe and Salzman), Antony, France and Collegeville, PA locations, respectively; the Department of Neurology (Dr. Rothstein), Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Sufit), Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL.
Supported by Rhone-Poulenc Rorer. The investigators received no financial incentives such as equity interest, patent rights, or corporate affiliation. Compensation was provided only for the costs of the study and for partial reimbursement of investigator time in carrying out the trial.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Robert G. Miller, Department of Neurology, California Pacific Medical Center, 2324 Sacramento Street, #150, San Francisco, CA 94115.
Abstract.
Two double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials of riluzole have now been carried out in more than 1,100 patients with ALS. The results of both studies show a modest benefit in prolonging survival that is statistically significant. These results led to the availability of this drug by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States beginning in early 1996. This is the first drug that has been available for ALS. It begins a new era in both basic and clinical research in an attempt to find a cure for this disease.
NEUROLOGY 1996;47(Suppl 2): S86-S92
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