Active clinical trials for "Multiple Sclerosis"

This study is designed to compare injection site reactions with or without the use of alcohol wipes prior to performing the patients' daily Copaxone® injection.

It is important to increase the independence of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients in activities of daily living. Almost all activities of daily living require managing many activities at the same time. For example, walking or standing while talking on the phone. There is a need for easily applicable, reliable and valid scales to evaluate dual-task performance in MS patients. Therefore, the aim of this study is to establish the Turkish cultural adaptation, validity and reliability of the Dual-Task Questionnaire scale in MS patients. This study included a total of 50 patients with MS [age (18-65) years]. Dual-task Questionnaire (DTQ), Timed Up and Go test (TUG) with dual-task and Nine Hole Peg test (9-HPT) with dual-task were applied to the patients. The second evaluation (retest) was carried out by the same physiotherapist one week following the first evaluation (test) in order to measure test-retest reliability.

Chronic progressive multiple sclerosis patients will be randomised to home-based arm ergometry training for 12 weeks or a waitlist control group which will have access to the treatment after 12 weeks when primary endpoint assessment has been obtained. Assessments include clinical outcomes and questionnaires as well MRI imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation paradigms. Primary endpoint will be the 6 minute walking test at week 12.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial, recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) (48000 IU) treatment or placebo will be administered weekly i.v. for 24 weeks: weekly for 12 weeks and bi-weekly for 12 weeks. Methylprednisolone (MP) 1 g i.v. will be administered before the first and second EPO/placebo administration. The 24-week treatment period will be followed by a 24-week observation period.

The aim of the trial is to demonstrate that 100 mg of oral minocycline twice daily reduces the conversion of CIS to McDonald Criteria MS (McDMS) by an absolute 25% as compared to placebo, over a 6 month follow-up period (primary outcome). A key secondary outcome is to confirm that this early treatment benefit is maintained at two years.

In addition to the physical, cognitive and psychological symptoms experienced by individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), there is new research which indicates that some individuals with MS have a deficit in emotional processing, specifically, facial affect recognition. Emotional processing is defined as "a central aspect of social cognition". Models of social cognition indicate that emotional processing is an essential component of interpersonal relationships. The failure to accurately perceive other's emotions has been shown to lead to difficulty in social relationships, misinterpreting other's affect, and consequently, inappropriate responding. However, even though a significant number of individuals with MS have impairments in emotional processing, we do not yet have an understanding of how these impairments affect the social functioning of individuals with MS, including the impact of these deficits on family structure. It is well-known that MS impacts one's social functioning including factors such as employment, daily living activities and interpersonal relationships. Recently a strong correlation was observed between reduced social participation in MS and quality of life. There is evidence to suggest that emotional processing deficits lie at the heart of this reduced social participation in persons with MS, leading to decreased social functioning and thus reduced quality of life. However, to date, this hypothesis has not been tested.

In the primary progressive multiple sclerosis, the detection of oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid is critical for the diagnosis. However, lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid collection is considered relatively invasive. Our hypothesis is that oligoclonal bands detection in tears is possible and useful for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

In recent years, studies have brought knowledge of the difficulties of social cognition in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The brain tissue alteration at the origin of these difficulties in social cognition mechanisms remain poorly understood. Although recent behavioral studies indicated social disturbances in many of these patients, functional studies investigating specific theory of mind in MS are lacking. The use of new techniques for morphological and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can identify brain activation networks, mapping the achievement and tissue integrity may be related to disorders of social cognition and cognitive. The investigators propose to study social cognition in MS patients using morphological and functional imaging to determine the mechanisms underlying phenomena such as cerebral compensation and its relationship with cognitive impairment.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the superiority of MD1003 over placebo in the disability of patients suffering from progressive multiple sclerosis and especially those with gait impairment.

The main goal of this study is to determine if the Triple Stimulation Technique (TST) can be correlated to performance in the manual dexterity 'nine holes peg' test, within a control group and a group of patients with multiple sclerosis. TST (Triple stimulation technique) combines two techniques used in neurologic diagnosis: magnetic stimulation and electroneuromyography. It is based on the principle of two collisions between the descending central stimulation (magnetic stimulation) and the ascending peripheric stimulation. TST allows to better quantify central nervous system diseases. The abnormal amplitude registered by TST is proportional to the intensity of conduction disorders. The evaluation of these disorders is more precise than with the magnetic stimulation technique alone. The Nine Hole Pegs technique is a simple manual dexterity test, commonly used in ergotherapy. The participant tries to place 9 pegs in a 9 holes perforated plate, and then tries to remove them as quickly as possible. The hand must stay in a depression within the plate, thereby insuring a constant distance between the hand and the pegs. The nine hole peg will be realized first, and the triple stimulation examination performed after. The acquired data will be analyzed in order to find a correlation between the impairment level given by these two tests.