title: 4-Aminopyridine in multiple sclerosis: prolonged administration.
abstract: In an earlier study, we demonstrated efficacy of single oral doses of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) in improving motor and visual signs in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients for a mean of 4.97 hours. We attempted to determine whether efficacy could safely be prolonged using multiple daily doses over several days by administering 7.5 to 52.5 mg 4-AP to 17 temperature-sensitive MS patients in one to three daily doses at 3- to 4-hour intervals over 1 to 5 days in a double-blind study. Nine of these patients were also tested with identically appearing placebo. Thirteen of the 17 patients (76%) given 4-AP showed clinically important motor and visual improvements compared with three of nine in the placebo group. Average peak improvement scores were 0.40 for 4-AP and 0.12 for placebo. Seventy percent of the daily 4-AP improvements lasted 7 to 10 hours. The improvements for two consecutive doses of 4-AP lasted a mean of 7.07 hours (83% of the average 8.53-hour treatment-observation period) compared with 2.36 hours for placebo (26% of the average 9.06-hour treatment-observation period). No serious side effects occurred. 4-AP is a promising drug for the symptomatic treatment of MS.
authors.affiliation: Rush Multiple Sclerosis Center, Rush University, Chicago, IL 60612.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stefoski
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Fitzsimmons
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Luskin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rush
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Parkhurst
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010919:Placebos
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos; D015761:4-Aminopyridine