Edaravone for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive fatal disorder that affects all skeletal muscles, leading to death, mostly within 2–4 years from onset. To date, the anti-glutamatergic drug riluzole is the only drug that has been approved for the treatment of this disease; however, its efficacy is modest. Oxidative stress is considered to be involved in the pathology of ALS, and in this regard, the free radical scavenger edaravone, which was originally developed for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, has also been developed for the treatment of ALS.

Areas covered: This review describes the pharmacological properties of edaravone and the progress of clinical trials conducted to evaluate the efficacy of this drug in the treatment of ALS.

Expert commentary: Edaravone is the first drug to show effective inhibition of the motor function deterioration experienced by ALS patients with early-stage probable and definite types. In order to effectively prolong the quality of motor function, edaravone treatment should be initiated as soon as the diagnosis has been confirmed; however, the respiratory function should be carefully monitored when a deterioration in breathing capacity is detected.

KEYWORDS:

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• edaravone
• treatment
• free radical
• clinical trial

Declaration of interest

H Yoshino has acted as a consultant/speaker for Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, and receives research funding from Tobishi Pharmaceutical Company. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.