Active clinical trials for "Neuromuscular Diseases"

The Neuromuscular Diseases Section (NDS) is conducting research on certain inherited myopathies and neuropathies, disorders that lead to disability and sometimes death. NDS, along with other groups, has identified some disease-causing genes. The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center proposes new research to identify additional hereditary neuromuscular diseases and conduct genetic studies in order to localize, clone, and characterize the diseases. An expected 50 patients with known or suspected inherited myopathy or neuropathy and their families will be recruited for this study. If travel to the Clinical Center is impossible, investigators may come to them to do the tests. Ten to twenty cubic centimeters of blood will be drawn for DNA extraction and genotyping. Some abnormal movements of muscle atrophy will be documented by videotaping. If necessary, diagnostic laboratory and radiographic studies will be done to confirm diagnosis. Because the diseases are hereditary, blood may also be drawn from family members. The family will be counseled and the participants invited back annually to investigate the progression of the disease. Each participant will be evaluated by a history and initial neurological exam. Up to another 20 mL of blood will be drawn for routine blood studies. Other medical care procedures may include a chest x-ray, EKG and echocardiogram, CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan, pulmonary function tests, and physical therapy assessment. Possible research procedures may include MR spectroscopy, nerve conduction study, electromyography, muscle or nerve biopsy, and lumbar puncture. The researchers have decided not to inform the family if nonpaternity or adoption is discovered by the DNA genotyping. Also, because a carrier of the disease gene may not necessarily develop the disease, family members will not be informed if they are carriers.

The objectives of this protocol are to: 1) screen patients with various neuromuscular disorders and facilitate their entry into appropriate research protocols; 2) help resolve puzzling diagnostic neuromuscular problems and train fellows in the evaluation and treatment of Neuromuscular Diseases; and 3) provide follow up to patients who finished their participation in a previous study but they are not currently entered in another research protocol. No investigational treatments will be performed on this protocol but the tissues collected can be used for future research studies.

This study aims to describe the evolution of pulmonary function in 3 neuromuscular diseases : Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Werdnig-Hoffinann disease, congenital myopathy, monitored in Besançon university hospital.

Preliminary data underline the fact that muscular deoxygenation during training happens earlier in adult patients suffering from neuromuscular disorders in comparison to controls. Up to date, pediatric data are lacking. The study aims at demonstrating if a correlation exists between the motor deficiency and the muscular deoxygenation in children suffering from neuromuscular disorders.

It is very important monitoring respiratory muscle function in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We have at our disposal Respiratory Functional Tests (forced vital capacity (FVC), maximal mouth-inspiratory force (MIF), maximal mouth-expiratory force (MEF), Cough Peak expiratory flow (cPEF), maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV), arterial blood gases and nocturnal pulsioxymetry) and Thoracic Image Techniques (inspiratory/expiratory Thorax x-ray and x-ray scope). But all this explorations present some technique limitations. They are two new methods to explore diaphragmatic function: SNIF test and Diaphragm magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI). SNIF test is simple and easy to be done and it can avoid some problems that have the other respiratory functional test in this kind of patients. dMRI seems to correlate with respiratory functional test and it can be useful monitoring diaphragmatic mobility. The objective of our study is to compare and to correlate SNIF test and dMRI with x-ray techniques and respiratory functional tests that measure diaphragmatic force and function. First of all we will study 10 healthy people with a forced spirometry, MIF, MEF and dMRI, trying to obtain diaphragmatic mobility reference values with dMRI. Lately, we will study patients with ALS. In the first place, we will perform a transversal study with 30 patients. We will do a forced spirometry, MIF, MEF, MVV, cPEF, SNIF, arterial blood gases and nocturnal pulsioxymetry, forced Inspiratory and expiratory Thorax x-ray, diaphragmatic x-ray scope and dMRI. Secondly, we will perform a prospective study, where we will analyze these variables evolution at 3 and 6 months. We hope we can apply the two new techniques in the future because we think they are simpler, more accurate and more objective to evaluate diaphragmatic mobility.

The purpose of this protocol is to test a new Electrical Impedance Myography (EIM) device and study its reliability and ability to differentiate ALS patients from healthy controls.

Patients with neurological or neuromuscular diseases may need a long-term tracheostomy to improve their respiratory function. Bacterial flora and bacterial drug resistance in the respiratory tract have never been studied until then for this type of patient in spite of their frequent hospital stay, their regular exposition to antibiotics and their susceptibility to swallowing disorders due to their pathology. This study is based on a single tracheal aspirate within the 48 first hours of the patient stay for a ventilation check up beside any infectious context to describe the basal bacterial respiratory flora.

The purpose of this study is to collect biofluid samples for the banking and usage in ALS research. Through comparison of these samples, the researchers hope to learn more about the underlying cause of ALS, as well as find unique biological markers, which could be used to develop new therapies.

The peripheral nervous system is the portion of the nervous system outside of the brain and spinal cord. It includes the 12 pairs of cranial nerves, 31 pairs of spinal nerves and their branches, nerves responsible for sensation and maintenance of normal body functions (sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves). Years of research using clinical examinations, microscopic examinations, and electrophysiology have made the peripheral nervous system the best-studied and most available portion of the nervous system. However, even with all of the extensive studies conducted on the peripheral nervous system, many conditions remain unclassified. The EMG Laboratory at the NIH concentrates on studying disorders of the peripheral nervous system. This protocol was designed to allow the EMG Laboratory to; I) Learn more about established diseases of the peripheral nervous system II) Identify and characterize new diseases of the peripheral nervous system III) Assess current techniques in the diagnosis of diseases of the peripheral nervous system IV) Refine old methods and develop new ones for the diagnosis of diseases of the peripheral nervous system.

Using an extensive set of both volitional and non-volitional tests of respiratory muscle function and strength it is the aim of this study to identify disease-specific patterns of respiratory muscle impairment in different NMD and COPD establish which set of tests is predictive of sleep-disordered breathing or daytime hypercapnia in patients with NMD or COPD, respectively. to investigate the decline of respiratory muscle function in patients with progressive NMD and COPD along with sleep studies and capnography