Compassionate use of quinacrine in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease fails to show significant effects

Neurology. 2004 Dec 28;63(12):2413-5. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000148596.15681.4d.

Abstract

Quinacrine has been reported as an antiprion agent and proposed as an immediately applicable treatment for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The authors report the results of an open compassionate procedure to which 32 CJD patients had access. In some genotypic subgroups, a slight but nonsignificant increase in survival was observed, likely due to biased inclusion of long-term surviving patients. There was no pathologic evidence of a beneficial effect of quinacrine treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Brain / pathology
  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / drug therapy*
  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / mortality
  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / pathology
  • Disease Progression
  • Drug Evaluation
  • Humans
  • Quinacrine / administration & dosage
  • Quinacrine / adverse effects
  • Quinacrine / therapeutic use*
  • Survival Analysis
  • Treatment Failure

Substances

  • Quinacrine