Glutathione (GSH) In The Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

August 6, 2010 updated by: University of South Florida
This is an investigator initiated pilot study to examine the effects of GSH in PD. The goal of this study is to acquire some basic data regarding side effects and efficacy of this compound to determine if this is a possible treatment option that could be recommended to interested PD patients.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Inclusion Criteria Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (2 of 3 of the cardinal symptoms, tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity) Mini Mental State Examination > 24 Anti-parkinsonian medications stable for one month Hoehn and Yahr II-IV

Exclusion Criteria Atypical parkinsonism History of seizure, drug addiction Use of typical neuroleptics Previous use of glutathione

Methods Study Design The study will be a parallel, double-blind, placebo controlled trial lasting one month with three glutathione injections per week. Glutathione will be supplied by Wellness Health and Pharmaceuticals in Birmingham, Alabama.

Drug Administration The drug or a placebo (1:1 ratio) will be administered intravenously at doses of 1400 mg on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week for a four-week period. The drug will be infused by an intravenous push over 10 minutes and will be diluted in 10cc of normal saline. Therefore, there will be twelve intravenous infusions of either GSH or placebo.

Randomization Randomization will be done by computerized techniques assigning either GSH or placebo for a four-week period.

Clinical Assessment Assessments will be done at baseline and at the end of one, two, three and four weeks during administration of drug and eight and twelve weeks after initiation of the trial. Patients will be asked to come to the clinic at approximately the same time of day for each infusion. The assessments will be done each Friday throughout the trial, once prior to the infusion of the glutathione/placebo and again one hour after the infusion. The following assessments will be done: Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, timed walking test, tapping test and clinical global assessment by both the physician and the patient. Patient diaries and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire, a quality of life measurement, will be done weekly. Patients will also be videotaped using a standard protocol. The treating physician will not be doing the assessments, all assessments will be done by a blinded investigator. Assessment forms can be found in the appendix.

Safety Assessments Vital signs - orthostatic, supine and standing blood pressure and pulse will be taken at baseline and again 10 minutes after the completion of each IV infusion.

ECG - an ECG will be done prior to the first infusion and approximately 10 minutes after the completion of each infusion.

Adverse Reactions Adverse events will be reported according to FDA regulations. Known side effects of intravenous GSH include difficulty administering the drug intravenously which can cause some discomfort or bruising at the site of needle entry, the formation of a small blood clot or swelling of the vein and surrounding tissues, bleeding from the puncture site and on rare occasions fainting or infection. Side effects of glutathione include fatigue and gastrointestinal disturbances. Adverse reactions will be assessed through an open patient inquiry at each visit. Patients will also be instructed to call the PI in the event of any adverse effects throughout the study.

Statistical Analysis The GSH and placebo groups will be compared on all measures using nonparametric statistics. Mann-Whitney U comparisons for independent samples will be used to detect differences between the two groups. Significance will be p<0.05.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

20

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Florida
      • Tampa, Florida, United States, 33606
        • USF Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (2 of 3 of the cardinal symptoms:tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity)
  • Mini Mental State Examination > 24
  • Anti-parkinsonian medications stable for one month
  • Hoehn and Yahr II-IV
  • Age 18 and above

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Atypical parkinsonism
  • History of seizure, drug addiction
  • Use of typical neuroleptics
  • Previous use of glutathione

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Timed walking test
Tapping test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
CGI-clinical global assessment by both the physician and the patient
Patient diaries
Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire, a quality of life measurement

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of South Florida

Collaborators

Wellness Health & Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Robert A Hauser, MD, MBA, University of South Florida

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2003

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 5, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 6, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

August 9, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 9, 2010

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 6, 2010

Last Verified

January 1, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • GSH

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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