Active clinical trials for "Neurodegenerative Diseases"

The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of using intelligent volume assured pressure support (iVAPS-AE) versus spontaneous timed (ST) modes of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The investigators believe that the use of iVAPS-AE mode NIV over a 90 day period will produce NIV compliance data and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores that are equivalent or no worse compared to ST mode NIV.

This is a human clinical study involving the isolation of autologous bone marrow derived stem cells (BMSC) and transfer to the vascular system and inferior 1/3 of the nasal passages in order to determine if such a treatment will provide improvement in neurologic function for patients with certain neurologic conditions. http://mdstemcells.com/nest/

Double blinded, sham-controlled, randomized trial on repeated transcranial alternating current brain stimulation (tACS) in neurodegenerative diseases. The investigators will evaluate whether a 4-times daily repeated stimulation with gamma tACS on the posterior parietal cortex can improve symptoms in patients with neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia with Lewy Bodies, Alzheimer's disease, idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus and Frontotemporal dementia.

The study will evaluate the safety and feasibility of near infrared therapy as an intervention for patients with refractory depression, anxiety, neurodegenerative disease, and traumatic brain injury.

The purpose of this research study is to assess safety and tolerability of a single intravenous (given through a vein) dose of the investigational retinal tracer AMDX-2011P in patients with neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson's disease and ALS).

P-glycoprotein, an efflux transporter at the blood-brain barrier plays an important role in de development of neurodegenerative disease. A novel PET tracer ([18F]MC225) was developed to measure the function of P-glycoprotein and was tested with succes in healthy volunteers. This study aims to evaluate [18F]MC225 in neurodegenerative disease.

Background: Aging-related progressive neurological disorders include frontotemporal dementia, Lou Gehrig s disease, and Alzheimer s disease. Little is known about what causes these disorders. Brain inflammation may be involved. Researchers want to see if scans using radioactive drugs can show brain inflammation. Objective: To see if the drug [11C]ER176 can show inflammation in the brain in people with certain progressive neurological disorders compared to healthy adults. Also to find genes that might be associated with or cause these disorders. Eligibility: People ages 18 and older with an aging-related neurological disorder, and healthy adults Design: Participants will be screened with a medical history, physical exam, neurological exam, psychiatric history, and blood tests. Participants will have 2-5 visits for the first session. They will have 2 PET scans and 1 MRI scan. They may have 3 more sessions: 6 months to about 18 months later, 1 year after that, and about 30 months to 5 years after the first visit. There may be up to 20 total visits. For the scans, participants will lie on a bed that slides into the scanners. For the PET scans, a strap will fix their head in place. A radioactive drug will be injected through a catheter. A needle will guide a thin plastic tube into an arm vein. Additional catheters may be put in place to draw blood. Each PET will take 2 hours. The MRI will take 30 60 minutes. At each session, participants will have a brief interview, medical history, physical exam, blood and urine tests, heart tests, and memory and thinking tests. They may donate blood for DNA tests.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease, medically refractory tremor, dystonia and obsessive compulsive disorder. Several hypotheses driven DBS trials are underway to study modulation of circuit dysfunction in other neurological and psychiatric disorders like epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease and depression. Recent reports suggest profound effects of DBS on the anatomy and function of downstream areas in the brain. For example electrical stimulation of limbic circuits is associated with increase in hippocampal neurogenesis. Similarly, stimulation of subthalamic nucleus (STN) or globus pallidus (GPi) results in activation of cortical motor circuits. Non-invasive imaging modalities are increasingly being employed in these investigations to better understand the effects of DBS on the structure and function of the brain. There have been important advances in MRI and we now have MRI which provides higher resolution and higher quality brain images. More specifically, the investigators propose to use MRI to perform functional magnetic resonance imaging (i.e. fMRI) to assess the effects of deep brain stimulation on brain function and to assess whether fMRI can be used as an adjunct to improve clinical practice in these patients.

Rural patients with life-limiting illness are at very high risk of not receiving appropriate care due to a lack of health professionals, long distances to treatment centers, and limited palliative care (PC) clinical expertise. Secondly, although culture strongly influences people's response to diagnosis, illness and treatment preferences, culturally-based care models are not currently available for most seriously-ill rural patients and their family caregivers. Lack of sensitivity to cultural differences may compromise PC for minority patients. The purpose of this study is to compare a culturally-based Tele-consult program to usual hospital care to determine whether a culturally-based PC Tele-consult program leads to lower symptom burden in hospitalized African American and White older adults with a life-limiting illness.

AOC 1001-CS2 (MARINA-OLE) is a Phase 2 extension of the AOC 1001-CS1 (MARINA) study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, efficacy, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of multiple-doses of AOC 1001 Administered Intravenously to Adult Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1) patients