Active clinical trials for "Sclerosis"

The purpose of a CSF repository is to collect samples of spinal fluid from controls and patients with neurologic disorders including but not exclusively ALS, Dementia, CRPS, neuropathies, and other neuromuscular diseases. This CSF repository will allow the use of CSF in biochemical studies of various neurologic diseases. It would also provide a supply of the necessary normal and disease control patients. CSF would be obtained from patients who are undergoing spinal taps for other reasons including diagnosis, treatment, or participation in clinical trials. We are proposing to collect an additional < 3 ml of CSF from a lumbar puncture that is already being performed for diagnostic or therapeutic reasons, in order to store it in our laboratory for use in future research studies. No lumbar punctures will be initiated specifically for this protocol.

The purpose of this observational study is to obtain a survey on physical activity in patients who for the first time have experienced symptoms which indicate a high risk for developing multiple sclerosis (MS) and in patients with recently diagnosed MS, and to obtain information on factors potentially influencing the patients' level of activity.

This study is designed to identify a brief screening evaluation for MS patients that is sensitive and specific to the MS population and which correlates with the findings of our standard-of-care neuropsychological assessments.

Aim of the BETAPATH study is to evaluate whether the use of a personal digital assistant (PDA) can improve the adherence of Multiple Sclerosis patients to a therapy with Betaseron. The Personal digital assistant PDA functions as an electronic diary and as an injection reminder.

This study, PRISMS-15 is a single visit, exploratory pharmacogenetic trial and long-term follow-up of the PRISMS (Prevention of Relapses and Disability by Interferon beta-1a Subcutaneously in Multiple Sclerosis) trial. The aim of this trial is to provide additional data on the driving factors of IFN beta response and the long-term outcomes of Rebif® treatment. This is a Phase IV trial involving subjects who previously participated in the PRISMS trial. To address the trial objectives, a single visit will be performed, at least 3 months after the onset of the last relapse.

The Avonex Fifteen-year Long-term Follow-up of Patients with Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis: ASSessment of Drug Utilization, EaRly TreAtmeNt, and Clinical OutcomEs (ASSURANCE), was a single-time-point evaluation of patients conducted 15 years after the pivotal MSCRG study, evaluated the impact of IM IFNβ-1a treatment on long-term disability and Quality of Life outcomes in patients who completed 2 years in a previous Multiple Sclerosis Collaborative Research Group (MSCRG) study.

Creation of a large repository of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), bio-fluid samples (blood and spinal fluid (optional)), and cell lines for ALS gene identification. This will be combined carefully with collected measures of the pattern of the symptoms people with ALS have and how these change over time. People with other motor neuron diseases and healthy controls will be included as comparisons

Urinary symptoms must be frequent in Scleroderma. In one hand, mobility limitation by joint stiffness and skin sclerosis, forced diuresis due to heart involvement (cardiomyopathy or pulmonary hypertension), diuretics use and corticoid-induced hyperglycaemia, as well as narcotic medication use, puts patients at higher risk of secondary bladder filling and voiding dysfunction. In another hand, few case report and small sample observational studies have identified a specific sclerosis of the urinary tract. Those two mechanisms must be more frequent in the diffuse cutaneous form of scleroderma (dcSSc) compare to the limited one (lcSSc). But prevalence or incidence is unknown. Urinary symptoms are seldom reported by those suffering from them and are rarely part of a systemic evaluation. In a threatening disease, urinary symptoms assessment might seem to be of no priority. But LUTS have a real impact on many aspect of everyday living. Furthermore urinary tract involvement might predispose to urinary tract infection due to flow limitation and stagnation. Since it is an inner fibrosis it might be associated with a more aggressive form of disease conferring a greater loss of physical function, higher risk for hospital admission and death. Thus, identifying urinary symptoms would permit to address specific rehabilitation or medication therapy, in order to minimize the consequences of the bothersome symptoms and identify those subjects at higher risk of urinary infection, aggressive disease/loss of function or death. This study will also give basement to build an interventional study directed toward LUTS treatment in this population. In this prospective cohort we would like to: Compare the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in diffuse and limited forms of systemic sclerosis. Determine the prevalence (at inclusion) and incidence (in a two years period) of LUTS among patients suffering from systemic sclerosis. Evaluate the impact of LUTS symptoms on Quality of life. Compare the discrimination ability of Cochin-hand score and HAQ score to predict incontinence in this population. Evaluate the association between LUTS symptoms, hospital admission rate, urinary tract infection, mortality and loss of autonomy.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive neurological disease, the leading cause of disability after injury accidents in young adults. Among the many symptoms, fatigue is very common with a significant impact on quality of life. Also, the disability caused by multiple sclerosis can alter food intake and can cause nutritional deficiencies. Nutrients such as proteins, minerals (iron, calcium, magnesium), some vitamins (B12, 25 OHD) are often deficient in this population with consequences in physical performance such as endurance and muscle strength. We propose to study the link between fatigue and shortcomings encountered in a defined population of MS patients.

JC virus is a benign virus which infects approximately up to 90% of the normal adult population. However, it may be reactivated in people who have a decreased immune function as in HIV infection, cancer, chemotherapy, transplant recipients, or in MS patients treated with natalizumab (Tysabri). In these patients, JC virus can cause a severe brain disease called Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML), for which there is no cure. As of September 2013, 400 MS patients in the world, who have been treated with natalizumab, have developed PML. The risk of PML is approximately 5 patients in 1000 after 24 months on the drug. Researchers do not know exactly in which cells of the body the virus lives but it has been isolated from the blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and from the brains of patients with immunosuppression. In this study, the investigators wish to determine precisely where the virus lives, and how the body prevents it from causing brain disease. Because of the association of PML with natalizumab, the investigators would like to see if there is a difference in the amounts of virus in blood, urine, and CSF found in MS patients treated with natalizumab or those treated with different medications for MS, or those not treated at all. The investigators hope that this knowledge will allow us to find better ways of preventing the development of PML as well as treatments for patients with PML.