title: Ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid treatment in Huntington's disease: A placebo-controlled clinical trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been suggested that treatment with ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may improve motor function in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) with cytosine-adenine-guanine repeat numbers of <45.
  
  
  METHODS
  This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-month trial compared the effects of ethyl-EPA versus placebo on 290 subjects with mild-to-moderate HD. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline to 6 months in the Total Motor Score 4 (TMS-4) component of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS). Secondary endpoints included change from baseline in UHDRS subscores and Clinical Global Impression (CGI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant differences in TMS-4 scores were noted between treatment groups. Similarly, there were no significant differences between groups on any of the UHDRS subscores or CGI scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ethyl-EPA was not beneficial in patients with HD during 6 months of placebo-controlled evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Joaquim J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Cardiff Schools of Medicine and Biosciences, Cardiff University, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosser
authors.affiliation: University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Center and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Craufurd
authors.affiliation: IRCSS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy.
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Squitieri
authors.affiliation: Amarin Pharma Inc., Bedminster, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mallard
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinik Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Landwehrmeyer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care
chemical_list: C035276:eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid
keywords: Huntington's disease; clinical trial; eicosapentaenoic acid; ethyl-EPA