In a small open‑label trial with ALS patients, daily intranasal semax (12 mg) for 10 days (repeated after a two‑week break) didn’t slow nerve loss or improve motor scores, but participants reported feeling better emotionally and more motivated, especially around day 10, leading to a higher overall quality‑of‑life rating.

The study of chronic partial denervation (CPD) and quality of life was carried out in 27 patients with definite, probable and possible diagnosis of motor neuron disease (MND) treated with semax (1% solution). The needle electromyography (EMG) was performed thrice with short-term 2 month interval (60 days before enrollment and on day 1 and day 48 of the study) in three muscles on bulbar, cervical and lumbosacral levels on the less affected side. According to Revised El-Escorial Criteria (1998) the needle EMG for diagnostic purposes was also performed in two muscles on the cervical and lumbosacral levels on the more affected side along with stimulation electroneuronmyography of motor and sensory fibers of the peripheral nerves of neck, upper and lower extremities. The open-label clinical trial of Semax (1% solution) was conducted in sequential groups of patients. The drug was administered intranasally in two 10-day-long courses with 2-weeks break in daily dose of 12 mg. Sixty days before enrollment, and on days 1, 10, 24, 34 and 48, patients were assessed by the Norris ALS, the ALS Functioning Rating Scale and the ALSAQ-40 quality of life in the ALS scale. It was shown that CPD on the early as well as on the late stages was characterized by forward-backward, but not unidirectional course, that did not allow to recommend the follow-up needle EMG with short-term interval for evaluation of drug efficacy monitoring. Early CPD stages were characterized by forward-backwards fluctuations reflecting the compensatory reinnervation process (a phenomenon of exchange of muscle fibers, more rational in view of reinnervation, between adjacent motor units) whereas on the late CPD stages these forward-backwards CPD fluctuations reflected the processes of progressive deterioration of muscle fibers and secondary demyelination of large motor axons. Semax (1% solution) does not influence either the course of CPD or the dynamics of clinical estimates, in particular the terms of ensuing marked functional deficits on bulbar, cervical and lumbosacral levels of segmental innervation. However, 1% semax significantly improves the total estimate of life quality due to the improvement of emotional state and motivation in MND patients with the maximal effect on day 10. This finding suggests that it is feasible to administer 1% semax in complex MND palliative therapy.