Metformin for Motor and Cognitive Improvement in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Feasibility Study

Call to Action:

Has your child been diagnosed with cerebral palsy? Your child may be eligible to participate in a study that will investigate the effectiveness of a medication called metformin, and whether it helps to improve your child’s movement and thinking skills.

Summary

We want to conduct a small study to see if it would be possible to do a bigger study that would test the effectiveness of a drug called metformin, and whether it helps improve motor skills (i.e. controlled body movements) and thinking skills in children with cerebral palsy (CP), when taken for 16 weeks. All participants will receive metformin. This study will take place at two different places in Toronto: 1) Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital (Holland Bloorview) and 2) the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

Researcher(s)

Darcy Fehlings, MD (Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON)
Donald J. Mabbott, PhD (The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON)

Who can participate

We are looking for children with cerebral palsy between 5-18 years old who:

Gross Motor Function Classification Scale (GMFCS) level II- V
Able to consume tablets whole or crushed, orally or through a gastrostomy tube
Able to communicate (verbal or non-verbal) pain or discomfort
Have not had orthopedic surgery in the past six months
Have no treatment or planned treatment involving diuretics
Have not been part of another clinical intervention in the past three months
Other safety criteria

Funding agency

CHILD BRIGHT Network – funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation
Three to Be Foundation