Active clinical trials for "Multiple System Atrophy"

The main objectives are to determine on one hand whether oligomeric alpha-synuclein levels are increased in MSA patients compared to controls and on other hand whether there is a good agreement between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma levels.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that cause as other neurodegenerative diseases profound declines in functioning and thus, require caregiving for assistance with daily living. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of a multimodal intervention as proposed by the NYU Caregiver Counseling and Support Intervention (NYUCI) on the quality of life of patients and their caregivers.

This is an observational study that aims to better understand the genetic causes of frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), Multiple Systems Atrophy (MSA), and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP). It is hoped the information gathered in this study will help lead to better diagnostics and future treatments.

Diagnosing Parkinson's disease (PD) depends on the clinical history of the patient and the patient's response to specific treatments such as levodopa. Unfortunately, a definitive diagnosis of PD is still limited to post-mortem evaluation of brain tissues. Furthermore, diagnosis of idiopathic PD is even more challenging because symptoms of PD overlap with symptoms of other conditions such as essential tremor (ET) or Parkinsonian syndromes (PSs) such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multiple system atrophy (MSA), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), or vascular Parkinsonism (VaP). Based on the principle that PD and PSs affect brain areas involved in eye movement control, this trial will utilize a platform that records complex eye movements and use a proprietary algorithm to characterize PSs. Preliminary data demonstrate that by monitoring oculomotor alterations, the process can assign PD-specific oculomotor patterns, which have the potential to serve as a diagnostic tool for PD. This study will evaluate capabilities of the process and its ability to differentiate PD from other PSs with statistical significance. The specific aims of this proposal are: To optimize the detection and analysis algorithms, and then to evaluate the process against neurological diagnoses of PD patients in a clinical study.

This study is designed to determine if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures can be used to diagnose and monitor the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) while distinguishing between PD and parkinsonisms [conditions that are PD look-a-like diseases such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or multiple system atrophy (MSA)] when combined with changes in certain proteins in body fluids that are related to iron (Fe).

Investigators hypothesize that there are specific characteristic of each cognitive and motor condition that can be defined using brains scans.

The purpose of this study is to identify 15 patients with autonomic failure and obtain blood samples for RNA from those participants and 15 control subjects within the same age range. The stabilized blood samples, along with a limited data set, will be shipped to Western Michigan University where the actual laboratory analysis (a separate study) of the samples will take place. Unique genetic inscriptions, called gene expression signatures, are currently being identified for many diseases, including neurological diseases. The secondary goal of this study is to support the research being done at WMU and they try to look for MSA-specific signs are present in whole blood samples of MSA patients at late-stages of the disease. This is a pilot study that has a long term goal (through additional studies) a MSA-specific gene expression signature for the development of a diagnostic test for this disease that can be used in the future. Other patient groups with autonomic failure, characterized by significant drop in blood pressure on standing, will also be included in this study, to look for similar genetic inscriptions. This pilot study is expected to last for 2 years. The investigators at WMU will need some de-identified health Information about the subjects, including their age at diagnosis, age (when sample drawn) and list of their medications

The main objective of the study is to compare the score to the Behavioral Dysexecutive Syndrome Inventory (BDSI) between Parkinsonian Multiple system Atrophy MSA-P patients and cerebellar Multiple System Atrophy (MSA-C) patients matched on disease duration, age (± 7 years) and sex .

The purpose of the study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of transcranial duplex scanning (TCD) and single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT) in patients suspected of having Idiopathic Parkinson Disease (PD) or Atypical Parkinson Syndromes (APS) with as golden standard the clinical diagnosis after 2-year follow-up.

Based on a prospectively collected data analysis, a new tool, namely CoMDA (Cognition in Movement Disorders Assessment) is developed by merging each item of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). A machine learning, able to classify the cognitive profile and predict patients' at risk of dementia, is created.