Assessment of Chronic Guillain-Barre Syndrome Improvement With Use of 4-aminopyridine
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2005-05-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
In developed countries, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is the most common cause of acute
neuromuscular paralysis, afflicting about 5,000 persons annually in the United States. Over
20% of GBS patients have permanent residual motor deficits that affect their activities of
daily living.
The goal of this study is to assess the potential usefulness and safety of 4-aminopyridine
(4-AP) in those patients who suffer chronic functional deficits from GBS.This medication is a
potassium channel blocker that has the potential to improve nerve conduction, particularly
across partially demyelinated axons. It is felt that by increasing nerve conduction there
will be improved motor performance for walking and activities of daily living, as well as
decreased fatiguability. This medication has demonstrated potential usefulness in central
demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis.Because the peripheral nervous system is
much more accessible to systemic medication delivery it is felt that this medication may
improve the functional status of those patients who are suffering from the residual side
effects of this medication.