Active clinical trials for "Motor Neuron Disease"

Motor neuron disease (MND) or ALS is a nervous system disease. ALS leads to a loss of movement ability that eventually leads to death. At the moment, there is no known treatment for ALS. Early diagnosis in individuals improves clinical care and facilitates timely entry into clinical trials. However, current methods for diagnosis are primarily clinical, and to date, no cost-effective biomarkers have been developed. Our objective is to identify a robust non-invasive neurophysiological-based system that can be used both as a biomarker of disease onset, and a measurement of progression using quantitative EEG and surface EMG (bipolar and high-density). The investigators postulate that analysing the joint recordings of EEG and EMG (bipolar or high-density) can give measures that better distinguish healthy people and ALS patient subgroups and that the findings can be developed as biomarkers of early diagnosis and disease progression.

The UAB Institute for Arts In Medicine (AIM) is currently implementing an expressive emotional writing pilot project for adults with paralysis caused by neurological conditions such as traumatic head or spinal cord injury.

A multi-center registration study of clinical characteristics of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Background: SBMA is an inherited chronic disease. It affects males in mid to late adulthood. It causes slowly progressive weakness of muscles and hand tremors. Researchers want to learn more about the effects of SBMA. Objective: To identify measurements that change over time in SBMA, including tests of muscle strength and function, as well as measurements of muscle and fat size. Eligibility: Men over the age of 18 both with and without a history of SBMA. Design: Participants will have a medical history, physical exam, and blood and urine tests. They will have neuromuscular ultrasound. They will have a lumbar puncture to obtain spinal fluid. For this, a needle will be inserted into the spinal canal in the lower back. Participants will have muscle strength and function tests. These tests may include pushing, pulling, rising from a chair and sitting back down, and/or walking. During these tests, they may wear an accelerometer (activity tracker) on their wrist. Participants will get an activity tracker to wear on their wrist for 10 days at home every 3 months. Participants with SBMA will also have lower limb magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optional whole-body MRI. They will have lung function tests. They will have speech and swallow tests. They will complete questionnaires. They may have optional body scans to measure bone density and lean body mass. They may have optional muscle biopsies. For biopsies, a needle will be used to take a small piece of muscle from the leg. Participants with SBMA will have 5 study visits over 2 years (every 6 months). Participants without SBMA will have 1 study visit.

ZYIL1 is expected to show benefit in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The present study aims to determine the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ZYIL1 when administered to subjects with ALS.

Preclinical and clinical data strongly suggest that administration of salbutamol in ALS patients may improve walking capacity related to motor fatigue by enhancing neuromuscular transmission. Salbutamol may exert a neuroprotective effect and slow down the progression of clinical signs and symptoms. The main objective of the study is to test the efficacy of salbutamol on walking capacity in ALS patients and the secondary objective is to measure the target engagement of salbutamol on the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) at EMG (decrement of repetitive nerve stimulation in three nerves/muscle couples), as well as safety and tolerability. The exploratory objectives are to study the effect of salbutamol on fatigue scales, muscle strength, respiratory function, motor unit count, muscle and spinal MRI parameters and blood biomarkers

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a progressive, terminal condition of muscle weakness that is associated with degeneration of neurons in the spinal cord and brain. This devastating disorder afflicts people in the prime of their lives. At the present time, there are no cures for this disorder, and current treatments are marginal at best. Despite years of intensive research, a fundamental understanding of this disease is still lacking. There is a need to identify both reliable markers of disease progression and effective treatments. The goal of this research is to bring a greater understanding of ALS patients closer to the research studies that can lead to new hypotheses and approaches.

This study is designed to learn more about the natural history of inherited neurological disorders and the role of heredity in their development. It will examine the genetics, symptoms, disease progression, treatment, and psychological and behavioral impact of diseases in the following categories: hereditary peripheral neuropathies; hereditary myopathies; muscular dystrophies; hereditary motor neuron disorders; mitochondrial myopathies; hereditary neurocognitive disorders; inherited neurological disorders without known diagnosis; and others. Many of these diseases, which affect the brain, spinal cord, muscles, and nerves, are rare and poorly understood. Children and adults of all ages with various inherited neurological disorders may be eligible for this study. Participants will undergo a detailed medical and family history, and a family tree will be drawn. They will also have a physical and neurological examination that may include blood test and urine tests, an EEG (brain wave recordings), psychological tests, and speech and language and rehabilitation evaluations. A blood sample or skin biopsy may be taken for genetic testing. Depending on the individual patient s symptoms, imaging tests such as X-rays, CT or MRI scans and muscle and nerve testing may also be done. Information from this study may provide a better understanding of the genetic underpinnings of these disorders, contributing to improved diagnosis, treatment, and genetic counseling, and perhaps leading to additional studies in these areas. ...

This study aims to measure in vivo the spinal cord gray and white matter in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and healthy persons that match the patients' age and sex using rAMIRA imaging, a novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) method. Patients and healthy control persons prospectively undergo MRI examinations, clinical examinations including assessments of disability, and tests of muscle force using hand held dynamometry. Serum markers of neuro-axonal injury are also assessed. Examinations for patients and healthy control persons are scheduled every six months over a time span of two years.

In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, dysphagia has a high incidence. With deterioration of swallowing function, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube is recommended to ensure sufficient and safe oral intake. Dysphagia and PEG placement alter quality of life (QoL). However, QoL and attitudes toward PEG remain largely unexplored. The purpose of this study is to monitor the swallowing function in relationship to QoL and attitudes toward PEG tube insertion and feeding.