Active clinical trials for "Sclerosis"

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.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's s Disease, or Maladie de Charcot) is a progressive, usually fatal, neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. This study will investigate the use of far infrared radiation for the control, management and treatment of ALS.

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.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic disease that leads to mental retardation in over 50% of patients, and to learning problems, behavioral problems, autism and epilepsy in up to 90% of patients. The underlying deficit of TSC, loss of inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) protein due to dysfunction of the tuberin/hamartin protein complex, can be rescued by everolimus. Everolimus has been registered as treatment for renal cell carcinoma and giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA). Evidence in human and animal studies suggests that mTOR inhibitors improve learning and development in patients with TSC.

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.

This is a randomized controlled trial with blinded evaluator and follow-up of one year. Seventy six patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis, will be randomized into two groups.The patients can not change their medication during the study. Patients will be evaluated at baseline and at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. The experimental group will use a serial night time position splint who will be adjusted monthly, while the control group will remain the drug treatment. The outcomes assessed will be: pain, hand range of motion, quality of life, functional capacity, upper limb function and dexterity. Our hypothesis is that the serial night time position splint will improve the hand range of motion in diffuse systemic sclerosis patients.