Conditions: Multiple Sclerosis
Keywords: Thyroid hormone Remyelination
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: SEQUENTIAL
Enrollment: 15
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This is a phase 1 study evaluating the safety and maximum tolerated dose of Liothyronine (T3) in subjects with multiple sclerosis

Detailed description:
This is a pilot, phase I, placebo controlled clinical trial of short-term high-dose thyroid hormone to promote remyelination in MS. Permanent clinical disability in MS is likely caused by the neuronal damage and degeneration that follows recurrent demyelination with progressive failure of remyelination. Thyroid hormone (TH) is required for central nervous system (CNS) myelination during development, and CNS remyelination in animal models of MS, a process similar to developmental myelination, has also been found to be promoted by TH. This study will ascertain the safety, tolerability and maximum tolerated dose of TH in people with MS, explore reliability for a potential signal of treatment efficacy and mechanism, and optimize procedures for a full scale clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of pulsed TH for promotion of remyelination in MS.

The safety and tolerability of this treatment will be assessed using subjects' self-report of symptoms, the validated Hyperthyroid Symptom Scale (HSS), and blood pressure measurements. a

Arms:
arm 1: Subjects will be divided into 4 groups. The first group will take 25 mcg twice daily for one week. The second group will take 37.5 mcg twice daily for one week. The third group will take 50 mcg twice daily for one week. The firth group will take 75 mcg twice daily for one week arm 2: Subject will take matching placebo twice a day for one week

Interventions: intervention 1: Liothyronine sodium intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Subjects will be divided into 4 groups of progressively escalating doses. Each group will have 6 subjects 4 will receive the active treatment and 2 will receive the placebo. The first group will receive 25 mcg twice daily for one week. The second group will receive 37.5 mcg twice daily for one week. The third group will receive 50 mcg twice daily for one week. The forth group will receive 75 mcg twice daily for one week. intervention 2: Patient will receive a matching placebo to take twice daily for one week.

Protocol document: