The following info and data is provided "as is" to help patients around the globe.
We do not endorse or review these studies in any way.
Brief Title: Ritalin: Antiasthenic Effect of Methylphenidate (Ritalin) in Palliative Care in Cancer Patients
Official Title: Randomized Study Evaluating the Antiasthenic Effect of Methylphenidate (Ritalin) in Palliative Care in Cancer Patients
Study ID: NCT00273741
Brief Summary: The aim/objective of this study is to evaluate the antiasthenic effect of methylphenidate with a visual analogical scale (VAS) after 7 days of treatment, in cancer patients, in palliative care, i.e. with a progressive or terminal disease.
Detailed Description: Cancer patients in an advanced phase or who are terminally ill generally present with depression, pain, drowsiness, alterations of cognition, anorexia and other symptoms due to the progressive disease. The objective of the medical team of support and palliative care is to control these effects to maintain a quality of life. Particularly, the cancer patient in an advanced phase of the disease presents with important asthenia. In some patients, this asthenia is characterized by drowsiness or apathy. It always leads to ill-being and a sensation of bad adaptation. When an etiologic treatment is possible (correction of the anaemia, of the metabolic disorders, of the undernutrition, of the anorexia, of the insomnia, of the stubborn pain, of the psychological suffering), the asthenia can be fought. But, when it appears in patients not really in the end of life (life expectancy more than 1 month) and when no etiologic treatments are possible, other solutions must be considered, and all the more when the complaint is important with repeated requests for relief. Methylphenidate is an amphetamine first indicated for deficient attention disorders with hyperactivity in children more than 6 years old. Several studies have been realized to evaluate its effect in cancer patients in palliative care. Some studies showed, in particular, its effectiveness on asthenia because of a stimulant and an antidepressant action. The methylphenidate could have an anti-analgesic effect or co-analgesic effect. All these studies are observational and not randomized. So they have a small level of proof and they have not been realized in a population of asthenic patients in palliative care. So a randomized controlled clinical trial in this specific population needs to be experimented.
Minimum Age: 18 Years
Eligible Ages: ADULT, OLDER_ADULT
Sex: ALL
Healthy Volunteers: No
Hôpital D'Annemasse, Annemasse, , France
Centre Régional d'Accompagnement et de Soins Palliatifs,, Bordeaux, , France
Equipe mobile de recherche et de soutien en soins pallitaifs, Grenoble, , France
Unité de Soins palliatif, Centre Oscar Lambret, Lille, , France
Unité de Soins Palliatifs, Hôpital Lyon sud, Lyon, , France
Soins Palliatifs et Soins de support, Centre Léon Bérard, 28 rue Laënnec,, Lyon, , France
Unité mobile de soutien et de soins palliatifs, Hôpital Saint-Eloi, Montpellier, , France
EMSP, Institut Curie, Paris, , France
EMSP, hôpital Saint aAntoine, Paris, , France
Praz-Coutant, Passy, , France
Unité de Soins Palliatifs, Saint-Etienne, , France
EMSP, Hôpitaux du Léman, Thonon-les-bains, , France
Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, , France
Name: Guillemette Laval, M.D., Ph.D.
Affiliation: University Hospital, Grenoble
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR