1,721,380 research outputs found
A six-month phosphatidylcholine trial in Friedreich's ataxia.
No full textIn a six-month open pilot study, pure phosphatidylcholine was administered intravenously (2.5g daily for a month) and orally (5g daily for five months) to sixteen patients with Friedreich's ataxia (FA) and seven patients with other inherited ataxias. Only the oral treatment achieved a mild but significant, 25\% improvement, mainly of "central" symptoms in the FA patients at stage 2 of the illness, that is, still able to walk without support and to lead an independent life. However, the drug was ineffective in the more advanced cases. These results are discussed and compared with those obtained with lecithin by other authors
Pilot studies on membranes and some transport mechanisms in Friedreich's ataxia.
No full textThe observed anomalies in high density lipoproteins in Friedreich's ataxia led us to investigate the state of cellular membranes in this illness. As a preliminary screening program, we studied the shape of erythrocytes; the phospholipid content of platelets and the transport properties of these membranes as indirectly reflected in the absorption of Vit E and the renal handling of orally injected taurine. All these investigations were normal, except for a tendency towards more echinocytes in Friedreich's ataxia and the insignificant increase in taurine urinary excretion after an oral load. We concluded that the possible membrane abnormalities are not major and will have to be searched for with more subtle and specific tests
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