Active clinical trials for "Sclerosis"

The major part of people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) experiences Low Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) secondary to neurogenic Low Urinary Tract Dysfunctions (n-LUTDs) during the course of MS, reaching almost 100% after about 10 years. N-LUTDs represent an important issue for pwMS, especially for their negative impact on Quality of Life (QoL), as they are mainly youngs in the prime of their life. Moreover n-LUTDs can lead to serious complications on the urinary tract as infections or renal failure. Therefore, the neurologist in daily clinical practice must intercept the possible presence of LUTS as soon as possible so that he can promptly initiate optimal management. To do this, it is essential to provide neurologists with validated, reproducible and sensitive tools that are, above all, easy to use in an outpatient setting. Our clinical research seeks, for the first time, to show whether pwMS get any improvement after the initial LUTS management, whether this improvement, if any, is related to the professional figure takes care about LUTS (neurologist vs urologist) and if there is an objective improvement of voiding performances on standardized measures.

Mobility problems in multiple sclerosis (MS) is a frequent symptom. It might appear in almost 93% of patients in the first 15 years of the disease, being a clear problem for their normal living. Nevertheless, therapeutic options for this symptom are few and optimal for only some patients.

Standing Balance, with and without blindfold, will be measured on patients with Multiple Sclerosis using a Biodex Balance Scale. A Twelve week intervention with one non impact aerobics group and one control group will be performed. Standing balance will then be retested on all subjects and the results will be statistically compared.

The aim of this study was to assess serum N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) in systemic sclerosis patients and to establish whether it reflects the severity of RV overload.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an orphan, multiorgan disease affecting the connective tissue of the skin and several internal organs. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a fatal disorder characterized by an increase in pulmonary vascular resistance, which leads to right ventricular failure. Despite being recently the object of greater attention and despite therapeutic advances, pulmonary hypertension due to SSc remains associated with a dismal 47 - 67% 3-year survival. Among SSc patients prospectively followed in the "European League Against Rheumatism Scleroderma Trials and Research" (EUSTAR) cohort, 26% of death was related to pulmonary hypertension. Although some previous data have suggested the protective effects of calcium channel blockers on the development of pulmonary hypertension, the potential preventive effects of vasodilators for the prevention of Pulmonary hypertension have not been determined yet. In addition to be considered routinely for the treatment of SSc-related pulmonary hypertension, prostanoids, endothelin receptor antagonists (ETRA) and Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5i) can also be used for this indication. This observational trial is one out of five observational trials of the collaborative project "To decipher the optimal management of systemic sclerosis" (DeSScipher). Aim of this observational trial is: - to compare the outcomes of adult and juvenile SSc patients who are at high risk of developing pulmonary hypertension and are receiving either different vasodilator treatments or no vasodilator treatment.

Systemic sclerosis is an orphan, multiorgan disease affecting the connective tissue of the skin and several internal organs. Digital ulcers are frequent and have a major impact on the quality of life in patients with systemic sclerosis. The etiology of digital ulcers is complex and multifactorial and the principal mechanisms underlying the digital ulcers formation are ischemic, mechanic and inflammatory, alone or in combination, on the basis of the systemic sclerosis vasculopathy. Consequently, there are at least three types of DU: (i) those localized at the tips of the fingers and toes, mainly resulting from an ischemic process, (ii) those localized on the dorsal aspect of the fingers where the skin retraction due to fibrosis over bony prominences seems to be the main cause, and (iii) those evolving on a pitting scar or subcutaneous calcinosis due to a combined irritative-inflammatory mechanism. An early therapy to prevent or rapidly heal digital ulcers is today considered a mandatory approach to maintain quality of life and spare the enormous costs due to conventional digital ulcer management. This observational trial is part of the collaborative project "DeSScipher", one out of five observational trials to decipher the optimal management of systemic sclerosis. Aim of this observational trial is: To identify the best treatment combination for prevention of digital ulcers in patients with fulfilment of the new ACR/EULAR SSc criteria or the preliminary VEDOSS criteria for very early diagnosis of systemic sclerosis To identify the best treatment associated with improved healing of digital ulcers in patients with fulfilment of the new ACR/EULAR SSc criteria Thus, the observational trial consist of a prevention arm and a healing arm.

The purpose of this study is to assess whether Multiple Sclerosis patients treated with Gilenya show a beneficial change over time in bone mass density and bone turnover markers as compared to matched controls treated with alternative FDA approved therapy or no therapy.

Prospective multicenter study of subjects who were recently diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or another neurodegenerative disease (including spinal cord diseases, muscle diseases and neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, multifocal motor neuropathy, myasthenia gravis and spinal muscular atrophy) or who are currently undergoing diagnostic procedures for the aforementioned diseases. Approximately 300 subjects will be enrolled. Subjects will undergo a lumbar puncture (LP) for cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) collection; blood collection for serum, plasma, RNA, and DNA (optional); urine collection (optional); and skin biopsy (optional) in a single visit. No study treatment will be administered. Subjects will be managed and treated by their respective physicians; choice of therapy or laboratory tests will not be impacted by the study. Clinical diagnosis may be confirmed by the subject's physician and communicated to the study's Principal Investigator (PI) by scheduled telephone calls.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or else known as Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a rapidly progressive fatal neurological disease that strikes in the prime of life, and for which there is no treatment. The principal aim of management is to maintain quality of life and reduce the symptoms of the disease. This requires a multidisciplinary approach using best practice for symptom alleviation, including innovation approaches towards maximising quality of life. The purpose of this study is to use existing information drawn from partner countries into a system of care that is available to people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at the correct time, in the correct format and in a cost effective manner. This will be achieved by collecting details of patient and carer experiences across all stages of from diagnosis to end of life, including decision making in the terminal stages of the disease. A health economic analysis will help to identify the overall costs of disease management, provide models of increased efficiency that preserve and maximize quality of life, and begin to develop novel health economic measurement tools for terminal neurological illness. The completed project will provide a user-friendly best practice programme for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that can be modified for management of other related degenerative diseases of the nervous system.

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine specific clinical features, molecular abnormalities, and laboratory-based biological markers of free radical stress that are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and influence disease severity.