Patients with progressive multiple sclerosis experience relentless disability worsening.
Although current FDA-approved therapies for MS prevent relapses, very few help slow down disability worsening in patients with progressive forms.
Biological processes leading to insidious worsening of disability in progressive MS are largely unknown, limiting the development of drugs.
One strategy to slow down disability worsening is to find neuroprotective agents, i.e., drugs that render nerve cells more resistant to injury.
NAC in Progressive MS Trial (NACPMS)
We designed a proof-of-concept trial in progressive MS of high-dose N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) as an add-on to standard of care .
The study was conducted at UCSF and UC San Diego and sponsored by the Department of Defense. Trial registration: NCT05122559.
Enrollment for this trial is now complete.
The information below is provided for background and reference only.
Click Here: ClinicalTrials.gov listing for NACPMS
Goals of the NAC in progressive MS (NACPMS) trial:
- Identify preliminary evidence that NAC prevents brain atrophy and gait worsening compared with placebo.
- Confirm that an antioxidant treatment strategy may benefit patients with progressive MS.
- Confirm whether a novel multi-sensor device is more sensitive than traditional measures to detect disease progression.
The trial was designed to minimize patient burden by allowing participants to remain on their usual MS therapies while maximizing information gained through MRI, clinical outcomes, and biomarkers.
This design may inform future strategies for efficiently screening neuroprotective therapies in progressive MS.
If you are interested in referring a patient to the NAC in the progressive MS trial,
please contact Uk Sok at [email protected]
Key Publication:
Schoeps VA, Graves JS, Stern WA, Zhang L, Nourbakhsh B, Mowry EM, Henry RG, Waubant E. N-Acetyl Cysteine as a Neuroprotective Agent in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (NACPMS) trial: Study protocol for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled add-on phase 2 trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2022 Nov;122:106941. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2022.106941. Epub 2022 Sep 28. PMID: 36182028.