Active clinical trials for "Muscle Weakness"

The specific primary objective of this study is to determine whether rituximab is a safe and beneficial therapeutic for Myasthenia Gravis (MG) that warrants further study in a phase III efficacy trial.

The additional effect of inspiratory muscle training as an adjunct to a general exercise training program in patients with COPD with inspiratory muscle weakness will be studied. The main hypothesis is that inspiratory muscle training combined with an exercise training program improves functional exercise capacity more than an exercise training program without the addition of an inspiratory muscle training program.

The global loss of muscle mass and strength associated with aging is a cause of functional impairment and disability, particularly in the frail elderly. Respiratory function can be severely compromised if there is a decrease of respiratory (RM) strength complicated by the presence of comorbidities and physical immobility. Previous studies have shown that the specific RM training is an effective method to increase RM strength, both in healthy people and patients. In this case, specific RM training may be regarded as a beneficial alternative to improve RM function, and thus prevent physical and clinical deterioration in this population. The hypothesis is that specific RM training would improve RM strength and endurance in the experimental groups vs. control who do not participate in RM training. Institutionalized elderly people with an inability to walk were randomly allocated to a control group, a Threshold group or a Pranayama group. Both experimental groups performed a supervised RM training, five days a week for six consecutive weeks. The maximum inspiratory and expiratory pressures (MIP and MEP) and the maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) were assessed at four time points in each of three groups.

The primary aim of this proposal is to test the effectiveness of NMES in improving functional status and muscle function in patients requirng prolonged mechanical ventilation

The global loss of muscle mass and strength associated with aging is a cause of functional impairment and disability, particularly in the older elderly (>80 years). Respiratory function can be severely compromised if there is a decrease of respiratory (RM) strength complicated by the presence of comorbidities and physical immobility. In this context, the need for supportive services involves the need for long-term care and consequently the institutionalization. Previous studies have shown that the increase of RM strength has positive healthy effects, such as the increase in functional capacity, the decrease in RM fatigue, the decrease of dyspnoea and the improvement of quality of life, both in healthy people and patients. Therefore, specific RM training may be regarded as a beneficial alternative to improve RM function, and thus prevent physical and clinical deterioration in this frail population. Study hypothesis: The inspiratory muscle training (IMT) would improve respiratory muscle strength and endurance, exercise capacity and quality of life in an elderly population, who are unable to engage in general exercise conditioning.

Aim: To determine the effects of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) in women with a single delivery route. Pregnancy and delivery route alter the pelvic floor muscle strength and are considered risk factors for urinary incontinence and genital dystopias. Methods: A Randomized controlled clinical trial with two hundred ninety-seven women aged 35 to 45 years old were selected for functional assessments of their pelvic floors by vaginal digital palpation and perineometry. One hundred sixty-five (69.7%) exhibited muscle strength deficits and were included in the clinical trial. The participants were distributed into two groups based on the delivery route (A, vaginal delivery and B, cesarean delivery) and were then randomly subdivided into Groups A1 (n = 44) and B1 (n = 42), who performed PFMT, and Groups A2 (n = 39) and B2 (n = 40), who did not undergo muscle training. The PFMT involved perineal contraction exercises in the dorsal decubitus, sitting, and standing positions and was applied twice per week for a total of 15 sessions. The functional assessment of pelvic floor by vaginal digital palpation and perineometry was performed after 15 sessions of pelvic´s floor muscles training. The statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney and Z tests at a 5% level of significance.

This randomized controlled, multi-center study will carry out to assess the efficacy of GB-0998 compared to plasmapheresis in the treatment of the generalized Myasthenia Gravis based on the changes in Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis score (QMG score) as primary endpoint, and in addition, to assess the safety of GB-0998

The purpose of this study is to determine if a modified protocol of constraint-induced movement therapy (CIT) is effective in rehabilitation treatment of arm paresis in children with cerebral palsy. In these children one main problem the non-use of the affected arm. Many studies showed that the non-use phenomenon can by reversed by the CIT, a rehabilitation program consisting of 15 days of restraining the unaffected arm plus a daily intensive (6 hours/day) physiotherapy training of the paretic arm. The present study aims at evaluating if a shortened CIT protocol (restraining device plus only 2 weekly hours of physiotherapy) is effective in improving use and function of children paretic arm

Ankle dorsiflexor weakness (paresis) is one of the most frequently persisting consequences of stroke. The purpose of this exploratory study is to compare two different treatments -- Contralaterally Controlled Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (CCNMES) and Cyclic Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (cNMES) -- for improved recovery of ankle movement and better walking after stroke.

Myasthenia gravis is a rare neuromuscular disorder characterized by weakness and fatigability of ocular, bulbar, and extremity musculature. The specific aim of this study is to determine if oral methotrexate is an effective therapy for myasthenia gravis (MG) patients who are prednisone dependent. Patients will be randomized to receive either methotrexate or placebo and those who are entered onto this trial will have symptoms and signs of the disease while on prednisone therapy. The hypothesis is that adding methotrexate therapy in these patients will improve the MG manifestations so that the prednisone dose can be reduced and clinical measures of MG severity will improve. Funding Source - FDA OOPD