[The effect of selegiline and vitamin E in the treatment of ALS: an open randomized clinical trials].

A role for oxidative stress in the etiology or progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases has been recently proposed. We conducted the 18-month, randomized treatment trial with oral vitamin E (600 IU daily) and selegiline (10 mg daily) in 67 patients with sporadic ALS. Thirty five patients were randomly assigned to receive antioxidative therapy (vitamin E plus selegiline) and the remaining 32 patients were the ALS controls who received symptomatic treatment. The primary end point was survival and functional status. At the end of 18-month study, 13 patients in the treatment group and 14 in the control group died or were tracheostomized. A decline in functional disability was also similar in both groups. Long-term antioxidative treatment did not benefit patients with ALS.