Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Conditions
Keywords
Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)
Brief summary
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is a relentlessly progressive neurodegenerative disorder, clinically characterized by parkinsonism with prominent axial involvement and postural instability, bulbar symptoms, supranuclear ophthalmoplegia, and executive dysfunction. Abnormal neuronal and glial tau aggregations affecting the basal ganglia and selective brainstem structures result in dysfunction of the five frontosubcortical circuits and brainstem functions. There is no effective treatment for PSP. One of the key feature in the aggregation of tau is its phosphorylation by kinases such as glycogen synthase kinase 3b (GSK3b). Recent reports have shown that valproic acid was able to inhibit the activity of GSK3b and could exert a neuroprotective effect through this inhibition. The investigators thus decided to conduct this controlled study to assess the putative neuroprotective effects in patients with PSP.
Interventions
DRUGvalproic acid
Depakine
DRUGPlacebo
Placebo
Sponsors
Nantes University Hospital
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
45 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Patients with possible or probable PSP * from 45 to 75 year of age
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| PSPRS score (specific score for PSP) | This score will be measured every three months during the two-year follow up of the study |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Neuropsychological evaluation | inclusion, one year and two years follow up |
Countries
France
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORPascal Derkinderen
Nantes University Hospital
Outcome results
None listed