Catalyst on ABC Thursday night

Boots n all · May 27, 2009

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For those that have an interest you might like to watch the ABC show Thursday night 8.00pm "Catalyst"

l first heard about the Vitamin C trials from Dr Josh Burns last year at the Ped symposium in Sydney..sadly l wont make it to this years one to hear how it has gone for them, this may tell us.

From the ABC website

CMT Disease
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is thought to help ward off colds. If current trials in Australia prove successful it may also be used to treat one of the most common neurological diseases called Charcot Marie Tooth Disease.

NewsBot · May 27, 2009

Ascorbic acid for Charcot—Marie—Tooth disease type 1A in children: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, safety and efficacy trial

Joshua Burns, Robert A Ouvrier, Eppie M Yiu, Pathma D Joseph, Andrew J Kornberg, Michael C Fahey, Monique M Ryan
The Lancet Neurology, Volume 8, Issue 6, Pages 537 - 544, June 2009

Background
Charcot—Marie—Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A) is the most common inherited nerve disorder. CMT1A is characterised by peripheral nerve demyelination, weakness, and impaired motor function and is caused by the duplication of PMP22, the gene that encodes peripheral myelin protein 22. High-dose ascorbic acid has been shown to have remyelinating potential and to correct the phenotype of a transgenic mouse model of CMT1A by decreasing expression of PMP22. We tested the efficacy and safety of ascorbic acid supplementation in children with CMT1A.
Methods
This 12-month, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial undertaken between June, 2007, and December, 2008, assessed high-dose oral ascorbic acid (about 30 mg/kg/day) in 81 children with CMT1A (2—16 years). Randomisation was done on a 1:1 ratio by a computer-generated algorithm. All investigators and participants were blinded to treatment allocation with the exception of the trial pharmacist. The primary efficacy outcome was median nerve motor conduction velocity (m/s) at 12 months. Secondary outcomes were foot and hand strength, motor function, walking ability, and quality of life. Compliance was measured by plasma ascorbic acid concentration, pill count, and medication diary entries. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, number 12606000481572.
Findings
81 children were randomly assigned to receive high-dose ascorbic acid (n=42) or placebo (n=39). 80 children completed 12 months of treatment. The ascorbic acid group had a small, non-significant increase in median nerve motor conduction velocity compared with the placebo group (adjusted mean difference 1·7 m/s, 95% CI −0·1 to 3·4; p=0·06). There was no measurable effect of ascorbic acid on neurophysiological, strength, function, or quality of life outcomes. Two children in the ascorbic acid group and four children in the placebo group reported gastrointestinal symptoms. There were no serious adverse events.
Interpretation
12 months of treatment with high-dose ascorbic acid was safe and well tolerated but none of the expected efficacy endpoints were reached.

Funding
University of Sydney Research and Development Scheme; National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia; James N Kirby Foundation; New South Wales Podiatrists Registration Board; Australian Podiatry Education and Research Foundation; Charcot—Marie—Tooth Association of Australia.
Click to expand...

Josh Burns · May 29, 2009

Further details about CMT and the ABC Catalyst show is available here:
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2583365.htm

Kind regards
Josh

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joshua Burns PhD, B App Sc (Pod) Hons
NHMRC Australian Clinical Research Fellow
Institute for Neuromuscular Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Locked Bag 4001, Westmead NSW 2145 Australia

Conjoint Senior Lecturer, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health
Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Australia

t: 02 9845 1228 | e: joshuab2@chw.edu.au | w: www.inmr.com.au
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuckersm · May 29, 2009

Well done Josh, a very good story on catalyst

lcp · May 29, 2009

great story, well done Josh. Would be amazing for these patients if something as simple as Vit C improves their condition.

surfboy · Sep 6, 2009

This was a great documentary. Congratulations Josh, on making such a positive difference to people's lives.

I watched the documentary very carefully. I noticed, that not once during the entire documentary, did they mention anywhere that Josh was actually a Podiatrist. They instead referred to Josh as "Dr Josh Burns".

It would have been such a great opportunity, to raise the profile of our profession, if they had mentioned that such a prominent researcher was actually a registered Podiatrist.

Just food for thought.

Catalyst on ABC Thursday night

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Catalyst on ABC Thursday night

Boots n all Well-Known Member

NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

Josh Burns Active Member

Tuckersm Well-Known Member

lcp Active Member

surfboy Active Member

Abco P5 Podiatry chair Perth WA

Fabco

Wearing the white labcoat

From ABC to CAB

The ABCs of advertising

ABC of Wound Healing

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