Riluzole for the Treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -- Too Soon to Tell?

Abstract

When it comes to announcing an effective treatment for a currently untreatable disease, investigators have a grave responsibility. Bensimon et al.1 report in this issue of the Journal that riluzole, a glutamate antagonist, increased survival in one group of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) but was not helpful in another group of patients with the same disease. Therein lies a medical mystery. The cause of sporadic ALS is not known. A familial form accounts for about 5 percent of all cases and, in about 40 percent of the families, can be mapped to the gene for superoxide dismutase on . . .