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Recipients of NEALS Funding Announced
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November 2, 2011
The Massachusetts General Hospital Neurology Clinical Trials Unit (NCTU) at and NEALS recently released a request for applications to develop novel, high-potential treatments for people with ALS. Requirements included that applicants must bring new therapies to test in patients within one year of funding. The funds for this grant opportunity are provided to help bring forward new treatments for people with ALS by an anonymous donor. We are pleased to announce that Dr. Richard Smith (Center for Neurological Study) and Dr. Michael Weiss (University of Washington School of Medicine) were chosen as recipients.
Dr. Smith’s research, co-funded by the ALS Association and entitled "Are Bulbar Symptoms in ALS Amenable to Treatment?" is a double-blind, placebo controlled, cross-over phase II trial examining the effects of Nuedexta on speech, swallowing, and salivation in patients with ALS. The study will also identify features of ALS that predict positive treatment response. Sixty participants will receive either Nuedexta or a placebo for 4 weeks, then receive the other treatment for another 4 weeks after a washout period. Nuedexta was approved by the FDA in 2010 and looks to be promising in the advancement of symptomatic management of impaired bulbar functions in ALS.
Dr. Weiss plans to develop mexiletine as a possible treatment for ALS. He proposed a phase II randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial entitled "A Safety and Tolerability of Mexiletine in Patients with Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis." The study will determine the safety and tolerability of two oral dosage levels of mexiletine, an anti-arrhythmic medication. The study will enroll sixty participants with ALS. A major impetus for this project is the observation that mexilitine prolongs survival in the SOD1 transgenic mouse.
Dr. Smith’s and Dr. Weiss’ proposals were selected for funding by NEALS/NCTU review board. NEALS is excited to collaborate in this new exciting and promising research, both of which are viewed by NEALS researchers to be crucial to advancing the field of ALS research.
Researcher Bios
Richard Smith, MD, PhD
Dr. Smith has worked on improving outcomes in ALS, initially focusing on symptomatic management of the disorder, and subsequently working on the development of therapeutics to treat ALS. He received his specialty training in neurology at Stanford University Hospital in Palo Alto, CA. He has acted as Skaggs Clinical Scholar and as a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Neuroscience University of California, San Diego - School of Medicine, as well as a Pharmaceutical Corporation Consultant for Avanir, Eli Lily, Isis, and Amarin. Currently, Dr. Smith serves as Honorary Medical Staff at Scripps Memorial Hospital, Principal Investigator/Sub-Investigator for Coordinated Clinical Research, and Director at the Center for Neurologic Study in La Jolla, CA, a position which he has held for over thirty years. He is a member of American Academy of Neurology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has authored or co-authored over fifty journal articles, books, and patents on neurological disorders.
Michael Weiss, MD
Dr. Weiss received his specialty training in neurology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and in neuromuscular disease at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. He is board certified with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), with added qualifications in Neuromuscular Medicine, as well as the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine (ABEM). For the past 10 years, Dr. Weiss has been Director of the EMG Laboratory, Director of the MDA/ALS Clinic, and founding Director of the Neuromuscular Division in the Department of Neurology at the University of Washington Medical Center. He has served on the AANEM Marketing, Research, and Examination Committees, and the joint American Academy of Neurology/AANEM Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Guidelines Committee. He is currently an associate editor of the journal Muscle and Nerve. He has authored or co-authored over fifty journal articles, reviews, and book chapters primarily focused on neuromuscular diseases. In 2009, Dr. Weiss was honored by being elected to the American Neurological Association.
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