Active clinical trials for "Sclerosis"

Patients with ALS will be included in the reference center for ALS in hospital La Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris. The study proposes to investigate the pathophysiology of ALS by setting up a fibroblast bank for studying molecular, cellular and genetic parameters of the pathology. iPS (induced pluripotent stem cells) and then differentiated cells will be generated. The pathophysiology of ALS will be studied on the 3 types of cells (fibroblasts, iPS, differentiated cells).

The rationale of this study is to assess the safety profile, efficacy and adherence to Rebif® New Formulation in real life settings with a multinational approach, as well as the impact of this improved formulation (with regards to adverse events [AEs]) to subjects' adherence.

This is a prospective, multicentric, observational study with a 2 years recruitment period. The purpose of the study is to observe the multiple sclerosis (MS) progression of subjects since their first episode of neurological event and secondly, to determine status of anti-AQP4 immunoglobulin (IgG) antibody in MS subjects.

RebiSmart™ is a device with an electronic injection log to monitoring adherence to therapy. Therefore RebiSmart is a tool for administering Rebif in multi-dose cartridges that may improve patient satisfaction and adherence to therapy. The objectives of this study are to evaluate adherence, effectiveness and convenience of treatment in subjects with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) using RebiSmart to self-inject Rebif in a multi-dose cartridge.

New technologies are giving people with motor disabilities alternative communication and control channels. The investigators are interested in using the Cyberlink Control System as a hands free means to access a computer for people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The goal of this project is to determine whether this device is a practical and realistic means for ALS patients to communicate with only the use of facial muscle, brainwave, and eye movements. The benefit of this study may be of substantial value to many people with severe motor impairment. Additionally, it is hoped that some of the study subjects may benefit by incorporating hands-free computer use into their daily lives. This study is intended to evaluate the effectiveness of the cyberlink as a tool for daily communication compared to the standard manual letter board.

The purpose of this study is to find out if weekly Avonex works as well as three times a week Rebif in subjects with relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Trials evaluating new therapies for stopping or slowing the progression of ALS depend critically upon the use of outcome measures to assess whether a potential treatment is effective. The more effective an outcome measure, the fewer patients need to be enrolled and the shorter the trial. Many outcome measures have been used over the years, including strength assessments, breathing tests, functional status surveys, and nerve testing, but all are far from ideal. A new method, called electrical impedance myography (EIM) appears to be especially promising in that it provides very consistent data from one testing session to the next, is sensitive to the muscle deterioration that occurs in ALS, and is entirely painless and non-invasive. In this study, investigators from multiple institutions plan to compare several different outcome measures, including EIM, in approximately 120 ALS patients, with each patient being followed for a period of one year. All of these measures will be compared to one another and an assessment of their ability to detect disease progression made. Our goal will be to determine whether EIM can serve as a valuable new outcome measure, ultimately leading to substantially faster, more effective ALS trials requiring fewer patients.

Recent evidence implicates abnormalities of autonomic function in ALS including problems with gastrointestinal (GI) motility. GI complaints reported by ALS patients such as constipation, diffuse abdominal pain, and a feeling of fullness or nausea may be attributed to autonomic involvement. Toepfer et al. found delayed gastric emptying in most ALS patients, indicating autonomic dysfunction (Gastrointestinal dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Other Motor Neuron Disord 1999; 1:15-19). The same authors also reported markedly prolonged colon transit time in ALS (Toepfer et al: Delayed colonic transit times in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis assessed with radio-opaque markers. Eur J Med Res 1997; 2:473-476). The present study will investigate the GI transit time in a large cohort of patients and controls using a noninvasive technique that measure hydrogen gas production with the digestion of lactulose in a measured substrate load presented to the bowel.

The goal of this VA demonstration project is to show that the Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology is a clinically practical and important new communication and control option that can improve the lives of veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The project will test four well-supported hypotheses: (1) that people with ALS who find (or will soon find) conventional assistive technology inadequate can and will use a BCI system for important purposes in their daily lives without close technical oversight, 2) they will continue and even increase this use throughout the period of the study, (3) that BCI use will improve their lives, and 4) BCI will improve the lives of their families and caregivers.

This study will test the ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect damage in different parts of the brain in patients with multiple sclerosis and to see if cognitive problems in patients can be correlated with the presence of lesions or reduction in the size of certain part of the brain. Healthy subjects will also be studied to compare findings in patients with those of normal volunteers. Healthy subjects and patients with multiple sclerosis who are between 18 and 60 years of age may be eligible for this study. Patients must not have severe clinical disability and must have been receiving and responding to Interferon beta for at least 6 months prior to enrollment. Candidates are screened with a medical history, physical examination, MRI and possibly evoked potential testing, which measures the nervous system response to visual, auditory and somatosensory stimulation. Participants have two MRI scans within 1 week (inclusive of the one performed for screening). MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of body tissues and organs. The scanner is a metal cylinder surrounded by a strong magnetic field. During the MRI, the subject lies on a table that can slide in and out of the cylinder. Participants will be tested with magnet strengths of 1.5 and 3 Tesla; the higher the Tesla, the greater the ability to see brain changes. Each scan may last up to 90 minutes. In addition to the MRI scans, participants undergo cognitive testing that measures memory and thought processes and complete forms that test and quantify fatigue level, stress, anxiety and depression