Neuroprotection With Riluzole Patients With Early Multiple Sclerosis

Summary

This is a double blind, randomized, parallel group design placebo-controlled mono-center study. Patients will be evaluated within twelve months of CIS onset. Patients with at least 2 silent ovoid T2 bright areas in the deep white matter on their clinic brain MRI scan will be offered participation in the study. Patients will be randomized to oral riluzole or placebo (1:1). Patient will take 50 mg of riluzole or placebo once a day for one month. If 50 mg once a day is well tolerated, patients will then go on 50 mg twice daily for the rest of the study. They will start Avonex (Interferon beta 1a) therapy 30 mcg IM once weekly 3 months after study drug (riluzole or placebo) is initiated if their liver function has remained normal. Forty patients within twelve months of onset CIS onset will be enrolled at UCSF MS Center. Patients will be evaluated every month for the first 12 months and every three months thereafter for a total study duration of 24-month. Enrollment period will last six months.

Timeline

Start

2006-07

Primary completion

2012-10

Completion

2012-10

Publications

• Kuhle J, Nourbakhsh B, Grant D, Morant S, Barro C, Yaldizli O, Pelletier D, Giovannoni G, Waubant E, Gnanapavan S. Serum neurofilament is associated with progression of brain atrophy and disability in early MS. Neurology. 2017 Feb 28;88(9):826-831. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000003653. Epub 2017 Feb 1.
• Maghzi AH, Graves J, Revirajan N, Spain R, Liu S, McCulloch CE, Pelletier D, Green AJ, Waubant E. Retinal axonal loss in very early stages of multiple sclerosis. Eur J Neurol. 2015 Jul;22(7):1138-41. doi: 10.1111/ene.12722. Epub 2015 Apr 29.

Drugs

Indications