Abstract
Since 2015, edaravone is the second drug available for the treatment of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In this study we analyzed the characteristics and experience of ALS patients treated with this new medication in our country. Sixteen ALS patients were treated with edaravone infusions in three ALS clinics. Most of them were male, had a spinal onset of the disease and a definite diagnosis of ALS. Mean age at first infusion was 53.5 years. Since the diagnosis of ALS, delay in starting treatment with edaravone was five times greater than that of riluzole. Edaravone therapy was usually initiated at a health care facility and was followed by domiciliary cycles. Adverse effects and the need of a special catheter for infusion were rare. Access to edaravone through health insurance was possible in only 43.8% of patients. Altogether, treatment access was limited but feasible and edaravone was well tolerated.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Oliveira AS, Pereira RD (2009) Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): three letters that change the people’s life. For ever. Arq Neuro-psiquiatr 67(3A):750–782. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0004-282x2009000400040
Quarracino C, Segamarchi MC, Rodriguez GE (2019) Predictors of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mimic syndrome. Acta Neurol Belg 119(2):253–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-019-01135-1
Miller RG, Mitchell JD, Lyon M, Moore DH (2003) Riluzole for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/motor neuron disease (MND). Amyotroph Lateral Scler Other Mot Neuron Disord 4(3):191–206
Edaravone Als 16 Study G (2017) A post-hoc subgroup analysis of outcomes in the first phase III clinical study of edaravone (MCI-186) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Front Degener 18(sup1):11–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2017.1363780
Jaiswal MK (2019) Riluzole and edaravone: a tale of two amyotrophic lateral sclerosis drugs. Med Res Rev 39(2):733–748. https://doi.org/10.1002/med.21528
Yoshino H, Kimura A (2006) Investigation of the therapeutic effects of edaravone, a free radical scavenger, on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Phase II study). Amyotroph Lateral Scler 7(4):241–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482960600881870
Yoshino H (2019) Edaravone for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Expert Rev Neurother 19(3):185–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/14737175.2019.1581610
Kern R, Nagayama M, Toyoda K, Steiner T, Hennerici MG, Shinohara Y (2013) Comparison of the European and Japanese guidelines for the management of ischemic stroke. Cerebrovasc Dis 35(5):402–418. https://doi.org/10.1159/000351753
Abe K, Itoyama Y, Sobue G, Tsuji S, Aoki M, Doyu M, Hamada C, Kondo K, Yoneoka T, Akimoto M, Yoshino H, Edaravone ALSSG (2014) Confirmatory double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study of efficacy and safety of edaravone (MCI-186) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Front Degener 15(7–8):610–617. https://doi.org/10.3109/21678421.2014.959024
Writing G, Edaravone ALSSG (2017) Safety and efficacy of edaravone in well defined patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Neurol 16(7):505–512. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30115-1
Writing Group on Behalf of the Edaravone Als 17 Study G (2017) Exploratory double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled extension study of edaravone (MCI-186) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Front Degener 18(sup1):20–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2017.1362000
Fortuna A, Gizzi M, Bello L, Martinelli I, Bertolin C, Pegoraro E, Corbetta M, Soraru G, Edaravone Study G (2019) Safety and efficacy of edaravone compared to historical controls in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from North-Eastern Italy. J Neurol Sci 404:47–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2019.06.006
Park JM, Kim SY, Park D, Park JS (2019) Effect of edaravone therapy in Korean amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Neurol Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-019-04055-3
Jackson C, Heiman-Patterson T, Kittrell P, Baranovsky T, McAnanama G, Bower L, Agnese W, Martin M (2019) Radicava (edaravone) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: US experience at 1 year after launch. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Front Degener 20(7–8):605–610. https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2019.1645858
Recommendation CDEC (2019) CADTH Canadian drug expert committee recommendation: edaravone (radicava—Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation). https://www.cadth.ca/sites/default/files/cdr/complete/sr0573-radicava-cdec-rec-march-29-2019.pdf
Hardiman O, van den Berg LH (2017) Edaravone: a new treatment for ALS on the horizon? Lancet Neurol 16(7):490–491. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30163-1
Fang T, Al Khleifat A, Meurgey JH, Jones A, Leigh PN, Bensimon G, Al-Chalabi A (2018) Stage at which riluzole treatment prolongs survival in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a retrospective analysis of data from a dose-ranging study. Lancet Neurol 17(5):416–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(18)30054-1
Luo L, Song Z, Li X, Huiwang ZY, Qinwang M, He J (2019) Efficacy and safety of edaravone in treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurol Sci 40(2):235–241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-018-3653-2
Okada M, Yamashita S, Ueyama H, Ishizaki M, Maeda Y, Ando Y (2018) Long-term effects of edaravone on survival of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. eNeurological Sci 11:11–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ensci.2018.05.001
Turnbull J (2019) Author response to a letter to the editor entitled: edaravone administration in pivotal clinical study 19 (Authors: Genge, Angela; Brooks, Benjamin). Amyotroph Lateral Scler Front Degener 20(3–4):300–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2019.1582675
Al-Chalabi A, Andersen PM, Chandran S, Chio A, Corcia P, Couratier P, Danielsson O, de Carvalho M, Desnuelle C, Grehl T, Grosskreutz J, Holmoy T, Ingre C, Karlsborg M, Kleveland G, Koch JC, Koritnik B, KuzmaKozakiewicz M, Laaksovirta H, Ludolph A, McDermott C, Meyer T, Mitre Ropero B, Mora Pardina J, Nygren I, Petri S, Povedano Panades M, Salachas F, Shaw P, Silani V, Staaf G, Svenstrup K, Talbot K, Tysnes OB, Van Damme P, van der Kooi A, Weber M, Weydt P, Wolf J, Hardiman O, van den Berg LH (2017) July 2017 ENCALS statement on edaravone. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Front Degener 18(7–8):471–474. https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2017.1369125
Abraham A, Nefussy B, Fainmesser Y, Ebrahimi Y, Karni A, Drory VE (2019) Early post-marketing experience with edaravone in an unselected group of patients with ALS. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Front Degener 20(3–4):260–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2019.1572191
Funding
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
GR conceived the presented idea. CQ, MB, RR and GR treated and registered the patients. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
None.
Ethics approval
This study was approved by the Ethics committee of the three ALS clinics involved.
Consent to participate
All patients signed an informed consent.
Consent for publication
All patients signed an informed consent.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Quarracino, C., Bendersky, M., Rey, R. et al. Logistics and safety of edaravone treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: experience in Argentina. Acta Neurol Belg 121, 1519–1523 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-020-01382-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-020-01382-7