A Clinical Trial for AMN: Validation of Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress, Efficacy and Safety of a Mixture of Antioxidants

A Clinical Trial for AMN: Validation of Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress, Efficacy and Safety of a Mixture of Antioxidants

A Clinical Trial for Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN): Validation of Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress, and Efficacy, Tolerance and Safety of a Mixture of the Antioxidants N-acetylcysteine, Lipoic Acid and Vitamin E

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy is a rare, demyelinating and neurodegenerative disorder, due to a loss of function of a fatty acid transporter, the peroxisomal ABCD1protein. Its more frequent phenotype, the adrenomyeloneuropathy in adults, is characterized by axonal degeneration in spinal cord, spastic paraparesis and a disabling peripheral neuropathy. Actually, there is no efficient treatment for the disease. Our work in the last twelve years dissecting the physiopathological basis of the disorder has uncovered an involvement of the oxidative stress early in the neurodegenerative cascade. In a preclinical trial we have identified an antioxidant cocktail that efficiently reverse the clinical symptoms and the axonal degeneration in the mouse model for the disease. We propose the translation of the results to an open trial to test the tolerance and effectiveness of these drugs in the correction of the previously identified oxidative lesion biomarkers, as a first step to a randomized versus placebo, multicentric and international trial. You will be clinically explored and assessed in the Hospital Universitari of Bellvitge (HUB) using clinical scales for spasticity, disability, electroneurogram and cranial and spinal Nuclear Magnetic resonance (NMR). The information will be collected in a data base that will be of great value to improve the present attention and the future follow-up to facilitate your inclusion in therapeutic randomized, double blind, against placebo clinical trials.

spasticity, disability,electroneurograms and evocated potentials. Cranial and spinal NMR will be done at the beginning and the end of the trial.

Inclusion Criteria: Symptomatic AMN patients, 18-64 years old, male and female, clinically and biochemically diagnosed; females must be obligated heterozygotes or must have gene mutation identified. Exclusion Criteria: Pregnant and lactation in females, Cerebral inflammatory disease with cognitive disorder, and/or need the help of two walking sticks, epilepsy, hypersensibility to cysteine related compounds, transaminases 2 fold up normal values.

Lopez-Erauskin J, Fourcade S, Galino J, Ruiz M, Schluter A, Naudi A, Jove M, Portero-Otin M, Pamplona R, Ferrer I, Pujol A. Antioxidants halt axonal degeneration in a mouse model of X-adrenoleukodystrophy. Ann Neurol. 2011 Jul;70(1):84-92. doi: 10.1002/ana.22363.

Galino J, Ruiz M, Fourcade S, Schluter A, Lopez-Erauskin J, Guilera C, Jove M, Naudi A, Garcia-Arumi E, Andreu AL, Starkov AA, Pamplona R, Ferrer I, Portero-Otin M, Pujol A. Oxidative damage compromises energy metabolism in the axonal degeneration mouse model of X-adrenoleukodystrophy. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2011 Oct 15;15(8):2095-107. doi: 10.1089/ars.2010.3877. Epub 2011 Jun 8.

Parameswaran J, Goicoechea L, Planas-Serra L, Pastor A, Ruiz M, Calingasan NY, Guilera C, Aso E, Boada J, Pamplona R, Portero-Otin M, de la Torre R, Ferrer I, Casasnovas C, Pujol A, Fourcade S. Activating cannabinoid receptor 2 preserves axonal health through GSK-3beta/NRF2 axis in adrenoleukodystrophy. Acta Neuropathol. 2022 Aug;144(2):241-258. doi: 10.1007/s00401-022-02451-2. Epub 2022 Jul 1.

Casasnovas C, Ruiz M, Schluter A, Naudi A, Fourcade S, Veciana M, Castaner S, Alberti A, Bargallo N, Johnson M, Raymond GV, Fatemi A, Moser AB, Villarroya F, Portero-Otin M, Artuch R, Pamplona R, Pujol A. Biomarker Identification, Safety, and Efficacy of High-Dose Antioxidants for Adrenomyeloneuropathy: a Phase II Pilot Study. Neurotherapeutics. 2019 Oct;16(4):1167-1182. doi: 10.1007/s13311-019-00735-2.

The Neurometabolic Diseases Lab, led by ICREA Research Professor Aurora Pujol, is integrated in the Neurosciences Area of IDIBELL.