Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disabling and progressive neurological disease that affects approximately 100,000 people in the UK. Many patients with MS experience two phases of disease; early MS (also called relapsing remitting MS, RRMS) and late MS (also called secondary progressive MS (SPMS). Early MS is due to inflammation of the nerves and the insulation (called myelin) that surrounds the nerves. Early MS is often characterised by periods of "attacks" interspersed with periods of "remission" with no or low disease symptoms. Late or progressive MS, which affects the majority of patients and typically emerges after 10-15 years of disease, results from actual nerve death (also called neurodegeneration). The progressive stage of disease results not in individual attacks but slow, cumulative and irreversible disability affecting walking, balance, vision, cognition, pain control, bladder and bowel function. Critically, and unlike early disease, there is no proven treatment for the late stage of MS. This is therefore an urgent and major unmet health need. MS-SMART directly addresses this need and will evaluate in this clinical trial three drugs (fluoxetine, riluzole or amiloride), all of which have shown some promise in MS, and in particular in SPMS. The trial is randomised and blinded. Randomisation means patients can get any one of the three active drugs or the inactive placebo/dummy; blinded means that neither patients nor the doctors will know which drug or placebo patients are receiving. Randomisation and blinding are standard approaches in clinical trials to ensure unbiased testing of drugs. All patients in MS-SMART will have periodic MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) brain scans and after 96 weeks these will be analysed. We will then compare the scans of each drug to the placebo or dummy to see if any of the drugs slow the rate of brain shrinkage that normally occurs in SPMS. This measured change in brain size is the primary (major) outcome of MS-SMART.
MS-SMART will test the efficacy and mechanism of action of three repurposed drugs (fluoxetine, riluzole and amiloride). All three drugs are in human use and have a good safety record. Critically for the purpose of MS-SMART they all have shown promise in early phase human MS clinical trials and target one or more of the pivotal neurodegenerative causing pathways implicated in SPMS. This is a Type B trial, as the IMPs are all in human use, have a good safety profile but are not currently used for this patient population. The major need for patients with established and progressive MS is neuroprotective or disease modifying treatments that will slow or even stop disease progression. This study will evaluate three highly promising putative neuroprotective drugs as well as comprehensively address several of the current knowledge gaps related to the understanding of neuroprotection and neurodegeneration in SPMS through MRI and CSF examination. MS-SMART is a multicentre, multi-arm, double blind, placebo-controlled phase IIb randomised controlled trial. A total of 440 patients with SPMS, with an entry criteria of an EDSS score of 4.0-6.5 will be equally randomised to receive placebo or one of the three active agents (fluoxetine 20mg bd, amiloride 5mg bd or riluzole 50mg bd). Patients will be followed up for 96 weeks with outcome-data collected after 0, 24, 48 and 96 weeks. That is, the duration of the trial for a trial participant is 96 weeks (a telephone assessment at week 100, 4 weeks post completion will be conducted). This is standard practice for phase II trials in SPMS.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
445
Comparison with placebo
Comparison with placebo
Comparison with placebo
Placebo comparator
Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Gartnavel Royal Hospital, 1055 Great Western Road
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals
Haywards Heath, United Kingdom
St James's University Hospital
Leeds, United Kingdom
The Walton Centre
Liverpool, United Kingdom
The National hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London
London, United Kingdom
The Royal Victoria Infirmary
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Queens Medical Centre
Nottingham, United Kingdom
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
Oxford, United Kingdom
Derriford Hospital
Plymouth, United Kingdom
...and 3 more locations
MRI-derived Percentage Brain Volume Change (PBVC).
To establish whether a drug, from a panel of 3 leading candidate neuroprotective drugs, slows the rate of brain volume loss in SPMS over 96 weeks using MRI-derived percentage brain volume change (PBVC).
Time frame: 2 years
Multi-arm trial strategy assessment
To establish that a multi-arm trial strategy is an efficient way of screening drugs in SPMS and can become the template for future work.
Time frame: 2 years
Count of new and enlarging T2 lesions
To explore any anti-inflammatory drug activity using the count of new and enlarging T2 lesions.
Time frame: 2 years
Pseudo-atrophy
Examining for evidence of pseudo-atrophy (to ensure reliability of the primary outcome measure).
Time frame: 6 months
Clinical measure of neuroprotection
To examine the clinical effect of neuroprotection as measured by clinician - EDSS, MSFC, SDMT, SLCVA, relapse rate and patient reported outcome measures - MSIS29 v2, MSWS v2, Pain - NPRS and BPI and Fatigue - NFI.
Time frame: 2 years
Health economics
To collect basic health economic data (EQ-5D) to inform future phase III trials.
Time frame: 2 years
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