Could a common blood pressure drug boost energy in ALS?
NCT ID NCT07224269
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 10, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This pilot study tests whether terazosin, a drug used for high blood pressure, can increase energy levels in people with ALS. Twenty participants will take either terazosin or a placebo for 12 weeks. The goal is to see if the drug is safe and if it raises ATP, a key energy molecule, in the body.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- terazosin
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a treatment that helps slow ALS by improving how cells produce energy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early pilot study with only 20 people, so it may not show clear benefits. It is designed mainly to check safety, not effectiveness.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
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About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2026
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
INCLUSION CRITERIA * Ages 18 - 80 years old * Diagnosed with ALS based on Gold Coast Criteria * ALS symptom onset within 36 months at enrollment * Slow vital capacity (SVC) greater than or equal to 60% * Riluzole use-Never taken or taking a stable dose for at least 4 weeks prior to screening visit or will refrain from starting for the duration of the study * Edaravone use-Never taken or completed at least one cycle (typically 14 days) prior to screening visit or will refrain from starting for the duration of the study * Must have the ability to swallow pills at the time of the screening visit, and in the principle investigator's opinion, have the ability to swallow pills for the duration of the study * Willing to use highly effective contraception for the duration of the trial treatment and for a duration of 80 days after the last dose. EXCLUSION CRITERIA * Orthostatic hypotension at screening is defined as decrease in BP \> 20 mmHg systolic or \> 10 mmHg diastolic and HR increase \<20 bpm on transition from supine to sitting or from sitting to standing * Known allergy or previous adverse reaction to terazosin or related compound * Current use of terazosin or concurrent use of doxazosin, alfuzosin, prazosin, or tamsulosin at the time of screening visit or within the 3 months prior to baseline visit * Pregnancy or breastfeeding women * Taking therapeutic anticoagulant medication (i.e. warfarin, DOAC's, full dose Lovenox or heparin) * Liver function blood tests (ALT or AST) more than twice the upper limit of normal * Hemoglobin \< 11.0 g/dL * Traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder * Presence of a confounding acute or unstable medical, psychiatric, or orthopedic condition * Noncompliant or sporadic use of medications that modulate the central nervous system * Uncontrolled major depression or bipolar affective disorder, or other mental health disorders that are, in the opinion of the PI, sufficiently severe to increase risk of experiencing an Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) * Current suicidal ideation as measured by question 2 of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) * Participants with insufficient decisional capacity to provide written informed consent determined by the primary investigator. * Noncompliant or sporadic use of antihypertensive medications * Unable to lie supine and still for 60 minutes for the duration of the study * Currently taking part in another clinical trial with an investigational medicinal product or having taken part in one in the three months prior to screening visit * Current diagnosis of diabetes (type 1 or type 2) or healthcare professional-recommended treatment (medication, exercise or diet) of diabetes mellitus * Screening visit glucose \>140 mg/dl
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Iowa Health Care
RECRUITINGIowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States
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