Table 1.

Summary of the various antioxidants studied for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Disease	Test agent	Primary endpoint	Result/Outcome	Model	Ref
ALS	Vitamin E, Synthetic porphyrins	Motor neuron architecture, 3-NT and malondialdehyde in spinal cord	Therapeutic benefit with improved survival	Mouse	37
	AEOL 10150, riluzole	Onset, progression of disease and overall lifespan	Delayed disease onset and progression and did not prolong survival	Mouse	59
	NDGA	Nitrite release, gliosis	Improved life-span and motor dysfunction	Mouse	164
	Celecoxib	PGE-2 release, rate of change in upper extremity motor function	Mouse studies: Inhibition of PGE-2 production in the spinal cord with prolonged survival. Human studies: No improvements in motor dysfunction, muscle strength and no adverse effects	Mouse Human	39, 43
	Single or mixture of antioxidants	Meta-analysis from nine studies: Post-12 month treatment survival	Lack of any significant beneficial effects for antioxidants used alone or in combination	Human	109

3-NT: 3-nitrotyrosine; NDGA: nordihydroguairetic acid; PGE-2: prostaglandin E-2.