ALS Ceftriaxone Trial Still Open

A 600-person trial of intravenous ceftriaxone, an antibiotic in the cephalosporin family that's approved to treat certain types of infections, is still looking for participants at 53 sites in the United States and Canada.

About the trial

Laboratory studies have suggested that ceftriaxone protects motor neurons (the cells that die in ALS) from injury.

To be included in the study, participants must:

• have had ALS symptoms for no more than three years;
• have a vital capacity (breathing measurement) of at least 60 percent of normal; and
• have someone available to help administer study medication twice a day.

Participants must not be pregnant, allergic to penicillin or other antibiotics of the same type as ceftriaxone, or have a history of a neurological disorder other than ALS.

U.S. study sites are located in Arizona; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Washington, D.C.; Florida; Georgia; Illinois; Indiana; Kansas; Kentucky; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Nebraska; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Ohio; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Vermont; and Virginia. Canadian study sites are in Ontario and Quebec.

For more information

Contact Sarah Titus, assistant project manager, Neurological Clinical Trials Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, at (617) 726-1398 or stitus@partners.org.

For details and contact information for all participating sites, see the Northeast ALS Consortium-Ceftriaxone.