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Lack of Clinical Effectiveness

Victor M. Rivera, MD; Martin Grabois, MD; William Deaton, MD; Wini Breitbach, RN; Marc Hines, MD

Arch Neurol. 1980;37(4):201-203.

Abstract
• Diverse observations including neurological examination, manual muscle testing, quantitative electromyography, videotape esophagrams, and pulmonary function tests were used in a double-blind study evaluating the use of detoxified snake venoms as modified neurotoxin in 64 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) treated for six months. Transient periods of improvement were more common in the patients who received placebo. This study did not demonstrate any benefit from administration of modified snake venom to patients with ALS.

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Neurology (Drs Rivera and Hines; Ms Breitbach), Physical Medicine (Dr Grabois), and Medicine (Dr Deaton), Baylor College of Medicine and the Neurosensory Center, the Methodist Hospital, Houston.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Sept 15, 1979.

Read before the 31st annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, Chicago, April 1979.

Reprint requests to Houston Neurological Center, 1616 Medical Towers, Houston, TX 77030 (Dr Rivera).

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