Active clinical trials for "Motor Neuron Disease"

The investigators are developing a tool to help people who are severely paralyzed. This tool is called a brain-computer interface (BCI). BCIs can connect to computers or other electronic devices. This study allows a person with ALS to communicate, control their wheelchair tilt and perform other tasks using a BCI, thus increasing their independence.

The purpose of this study is to track areas of the brain, via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that retain structural and functional integrity throughout the lifespan of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Despite significant progress in the identification of mechanisms involved in motor neuron degeneration in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and other motor system diseases, the actual pathogenesis and cause of these diseases remains unknown. Effective treatment of these diseases are dependent on the elucidation of their causes. The availability of diseased and control human tissues will be a critical resource for this research progress. . Samples of serum, spinal fluid, and urine from patients with motor system diseases can be used to study biochemical and genetic differences compared to tissues of neurologic disease controls and normal controls. Furthermore, the availability of autopsied CNS, PNS, as well as other tissues from patients with ALS or suspected ALS are useful for current and future research studies into the disease. Therefore, we propose to institute a Tissue Bank containing blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid donated from not only ALS and other motor neuron disease patients, but also those with other neurologic diseases and normals whose tissue can be used as controls. In addition there will be an autopsy band for post-mortem specimens of ALS and other motor neuron disease patients. Each specimen, whether from a living patient or autopsy will be de-identified and accompanied by a standard set of clinical information collected from the medical records in order that each specimen is characterized with the relevant clinical information to maximize the usefulness of the specimens. Once established, this tissue bank will provide a resource in which a large number of samples will be readily available and expedite research by circumventing the delays in collecting specimens prospectively. These specimens will be used for research in the ALS Center of Hope at Drexel University College of Medicine and shared with any outside investigator with a valid IRB approved protocol.

The purpose of this pilot study is to characterize changes in postural orientation and equilibrium in early diagnosed ALS patient. The investigators plan to cross validate the use of a standardized test of equilibrium (EquiTest, Computerized Dynamic Posturography - CDP) in early diagnosed ALS patients.

This study will test the hypothesis that noninvasive ventilation (NIV) as prescribed in current medical practice for use in amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients fails to deliver adequate breathing support over a night of use in the patient's home. ALS patients who come to the ALS Center for their routine 3 month follow up exam and are currently using NIV will be asked to complete questionnaires regarding their quality of sleep, quality of life and general level of function, and to undergo a home sleep study, using a safe, comfortable and reliable breathing monitoring system during a night of sleep. If the questionnaires or the sleep study show failure of the breathing device, the investigators will work with the patient to fix the problem and then offer a second study to make sure that the changes were helpful. The results of this study may help to develop subsequent studies and to improve the guidelines used for care of ALS patients.

Non-invasive ventilation or BiPAP®, which is a form of breathing support delivered through a facemask, is a successful treatment for the respiratory complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It has been shown to prolong survival, improve quality of life, and improve cognitive function. It is widely used among patients with ALS who have advanced breathing difficulties. It is not known whether there is benefit to using non-invasive ventilation earlier in the disease course. There is evidence that non-invasive ventilation may slow down the decline in breathing function. If this were true then it would make sense to start non-invasive ventilation use earlier than the current clinically accepted practices. The purpose of this study is to determine whether using non-invasive ventilation early in the course of disease can slow the decline in breathing function. Patients remain in the study for 6 months and are asked to make 7 clinic visits during which time they will undergo pulmonary function tests and complete questionnaires.

Veterans are at higher risk than non-Veterans of falling ill with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS causes degeneration of motor neurons in both the brain and the spinal cord. Evidence from studies in people with spinal cord injury suggests that activating spared nerve circuits with electromagnetic stimulation improves nerve transmission. With this goal, the investigators have developed a novel method of noninvasive cervical (neck) electrical stimulation (CES). In this study, the investigators will investigate CES for its potential to strengthen nerve circuits to the hands in ALS. To the investigators' knowledge, electrical spinal stimulation for ALS has never been tested previously. This study will be performed in two stages: First, basic experiments will be performed to better understand how CES interacts with other types of electrical and magnetic stimulations over the brain and peripheral nerves. Second, experiments will be performed to determine the types of CES that can facilitate active arm and hand movements. These experiments will improve understanding of electrical stimulation in ALS, and may set the table for future treatments. Both United States Veterans and non-Veterans are eligible to participate in this study.

The proposed observational trial will collect substantial data concerning dietary intake documented by ALS patients complemented by the analysis of fatty acid distribution in erythrocyte lipids. Both data sets are related to disease status and progress.

Patients with ALS will be included in the reference center for ALS in hospital La Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris. The study proposes to investigate the pathophysiology of ALS by setting up a fibroblast bank for studying molecular, cellular and genetic parameters of the pathology. iPS (induced pluripotent stem cells) and then differentiated cells will be generated. The pathophysiology of ALS will be studied on the 3 types of cells (fibroblasts, iPS, differentiated cells).

The investigators want to develop a brain-computer interface (BCI) that will eventually allow people who are completely paralyzed to independently control the tilt feature on their power wheelchairs. This study will allow healthy volunteers to test the feasibility and accuracy of controlling a BCI using only their brain signals while seated in a tilting wheelchair.