News & Events
Italian clinical trial of lithium in MND
06 February 2008
The results of a small Italian clinical trial of the drug lithium carbonate have recently been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
During the 15 month trial, 16 people with MND took lithium carbonate in addition to riluzole. The progress of their disease was compared with that of 28 people taking rilzuole alone. The Italian researchers reported that the lithium carbonate significantly slowed the progression of MND.
Whilst the results of this trial may be encouraging, they do need to be considered with some caution and should not be seen as conclusive evidence that lithium is an effective treatment for MND. Sixteen people are an inadequate number in which to establish with confidence that a drug is beneficial. The methods used in the trial also had other important weaknesses.
Click here to find out more information about this clinical trial on our News in Research pages.
During the 15 month trial, 16 people with MND took lithium carbonate in addition to riluzole. The progress of their disease was compared with that of 28 people taking rilzuole alone. The Italian researchers reported that the lithium carbonate significantly slowed the progression of MND.
Whilst the results of this trial may be encouraging, they do need to be considered with some caution and should not be seen as conclusive evidence that lithium is an effective treatment for MND. Sixteen people are an inadequate number in which to establish with confidence that a drug is beneficial. The methods used in the trial also had other important weaknesses.
Click here to find out more information about this clinical trial on our News in Research pages.
