I noticed there is a clinical trial of goserelin (trade name: Zoladex) as a treatment for SBMA. Here is the link and the URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00851461

The action of goserelin appears to be somewhat similar to Lupron/luprolide/leuprorelin in that it suppresses the production of testosterone in the body.

If anyone has more information on this study, please post here. Thanks.

Dan, you are a wealth of information. I have not heard of this trial. Thanks for keeping us up to date. Hopefully, one of these will work and lead us to something that will work.

Have I previously shared my experience concerning 3 monthly 10.8mg goserelin sub.cute. injections for metastatic prostate cancer, being atypical - discovered during Oct 2007 successful colorectal C surgery?

Sadly I have found no side benefits to my gradually worsening SBMA condition since June 2010 when I was changed to this medication from 3 monthly 10.5 mg triptorelin intra/musc.injections which commenced in Jan 2008. This was due to slowly increasing PSA level during 2010, reaching 6+, I have also taken 1 pd Casodex 50mg tab since Sept 2010 as a extra antiandrogen which has controlled PSA to < 1.0.

A fortuitous Feb 2010 xray of damaged rt ankle ligaments,caused by SBMA related fall, revealed bone demineraisation caused by "relin" hormone treatment since Jan 2008. In May 2010 a DEXA bone scan revealed hip bones values in the high osteopenic range. Since Nov 2010 I have taken 2pd calcium vitamin D3 supp. (aka "Calceous" chewable tabs) plus a weekly 50mg bisphosphonate tab (alendronic acid) since Nov 2010 to combat this unwanted "relin" hormone-induced problem.

Michael, thank you very much for sharing your experience. I wish you the best of luck in your battles with all of your health conditions.

Your case is very interesting because of the combination of drugs you have taken. Both triptorelin and goserelin (Zoladex) are known, after an initial flare, to suppress testosterone levels.

In addition, you took bicalutamide (Casodex), which according to its Wikipedia article "... acts as a pure anti-androgen by binding to the androgen receptor (AR) and preventing the activation of the AR and subsequent upregulation of androgen responsive genes by androgenic hormones. In addition, bicalutamide accelerates the degradation of the androgen receptor."

So when it comes to suppressing testosterone and its receptors, you would seem to have all of the bases covered.

Again good luck and I hope you are soon feeling a little better.

Dan, I tried 3 monthly Zoladex implants for five years. At the end of that time we didn't know whether the treatment helped or not. That is, we didn't know what my condition would have been without the treatment. Anticipating bone loss, I had a scan early in the treatment and discovered that I was in the osteopenic range. Weekly Fosamax and D3 supplements have brought about a mild improvement in my bone density. Other side effects included "hot flushes", loss of libido and mild depression. Whether they were as a result of the Zoladex; I don't know.

In January this year I took the decision to abandon the treatment for twelve months and then reassess the situation. My last implant was in October 2010. Since then I haven't noted any physical changes. Perhaps I am slightly happier, but that could be as a result of many other influences.

Cliff, thanks for sharing your experience.

As you mentioned, the problem with evaluating drugs for SBMA is the disease progresses slowly, so it is hard to say where you would have been without the treatment. Hopefully the clinical trial mentioned at the beginning of this thread will discover that.

It's interesting that both Cliff and Michael mentioned issues with bone density after taking Zoladex/goserlin. Since people with SBMA are at elevated risk for falling, one thing we really need to avoid is low bone density.