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Evidence summaries

Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor (Cntf) for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Motor Neuron Disease

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) appears not to be effective for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Level of evidence: "B"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 2 studies with a total of 1 300 subjects treated with subcutaneous injections of recombinant human ciliary neurotrophic factor. The methodological quality of these trials was considered adequate. No significant difference was observed between ciliary neurotrophic factor and placebo groups for survival, the primary outcome measure. The relative risk was 1.07 (95% CI 0.81 to 1.41). No significant differences between the groups were observed for most of the secondary outcomes. However, a significant increase of the incidence of several adverse events was noted in groups treated with higher doses of CNTF.

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by imprecise results (limited study size for each comparison).

    References

    • Bongioanni P, Reali C, Sogos V. Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004;(3):CD004302. [Assessed as up-to-date: 3 Nov 2011][PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords