Clinical trial NCT01257581
Conditions: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Keywords: ALS Lou Gehrig's Disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Creatine Tamoxifen Selection Design
Sponsor: Nazem Atassi
Start date: 2011-03-01; Completion date: 2013-02-01
Enrollment: 60 participants; Allocation: RANDOMIZED; Intervention model: PARALLEL

Brief summary:
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of high dose creatine and two dosages of tamoxifen treatment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Detailed description:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare, neurodegenerative disorder that results in progressive wasting and paralysis of voluntary muscles. It is known that nerve cells called motor neurons die in the brains and spinal cords of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the cause of this cell death is unknown.

In this double blind, randomized, selection design trial, researchers will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of creatine and tamoxifen in volunteers with ALS. There are a large number of potential drugs that may improve the survival or slow down the disease progression in people with ALS. The current strategy is to test one drug at a time against placebo. "Selection Design" is a different type of study design. A Selection Design study uses multiple drugs to screen against each other and picks the winner to take to a larger study. This design can speed the search for effective drugs to treat ALS. In this Selection Design study, each volunteer will take one active study drug (creatine 30gm, tamoxifen 40mg, or tamoxifen 80mg) and one placebo.

Approximately 60 eligible volunteers with ALS will be recruited from multiple centers in the US that belong to the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS). Volunteers will be randomly assigned equally to the three treatment arms: creatine 30gm/day, tamoxifen 40mg/day and tamoxifen 80mg/day. Volunteers will take study treatment for 38 weeks. After screening and randomization, volunteers will be followed at weeks 4, 10, 18, 28 and week 38. A final telephone interview will occur at week 42 (off study drug).

Arms: arm 1: Creatine will be taken as a powder mixed into food or liquid twice a day. Volunteers in this arm will take a total of 30gm of creatine per day for 38 weeks. Volunteers will also take placebo capsules twice a day for 38 weeks.

This is a blinded study, so neither participants nor study staff will know which treatment a volunteer is receiving.

Creatine is a nutritional supplement and is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating ALS. arm 2: Tamoxifen will be taken as capsules twice a day. Volunteers in this arm will take a total of 40mg of tamoxifen per day for 38 weeks. Volunteers will also take placebo powder twice a day for 38 weeks.

This is a blinded study, so neither participants nor study staff will know which treatment a volunteer is receiving.

Tamoxifen is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for breast cancer treatment but is not approved for treating ALS. arm 3: Tamoxifen will be taken as capsules twice a day. Volunteers in this arm will take a total of 80mg of tamoxifen per day for 38 weeks. Volunteers will also take placebo powder twice a day for 38 weeks.

This is a blinded study, so neither participants nor study staff will know which treatment a volunteer is receiving.

Tamoxifen is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for breast cancer treatment but is not approved for treating ALS.
Interventions: intervention 1: creatine intervention 2: tamoxifen
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: creatine monohydrate powder intervention 2: Tamoxifen citrate capsules

Protocol documents: