Active clinical trials for "Sclerosis"

There is a strong relationship between metabolic state and immune tolerance through a direct control exerted on immune cells by specific intracellular nutrient-energy sensors. An increased "metabolic work load" represents a novel issue linking metabolism with loss of self-immune tolerance. Several disease-modifying drugs have been approved for Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RR-MS) treatments and have shown to reduce relapse rates by modulating immune responses; however, their impact on long-term disease progression and accrual of irreversible neurological disability remains largely unclear, underlining the need for novel therapeutic strategies. In this context, both acute fasting (AF) and chronic caloric restriction (CR) have been shown to improve experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Despite this evidence, no specific studies have been performed to dissect at the cellular level the mechanism of action of CR in the context of autoimmunity and MS. This study aims at investigating this specific point in order to pave the way for a wider utilization of a nutritional approach to alter MS progression and activity. The aim of this study is to improve the outcome of RR-MS and the efficacy of first line drug treatments (ie. Copaxone or Tecfidera) by altering the metabolic state of the host via calorie restriction with the aim to re-equilibrate immune/inflammatory responses of patients.

To date, despite recent advances in MS care including rehabilitation interventions, many PwMS are unable to access these developments due to limited mobility, fatigue and related issues, and costs associated with travel. Thus, physical activity at home could be a new way to deliver exercises to the patients. Although Pilates did not show any significant advantage over standardized physical therapy in the current literature, it is a good method to promote physical activity, sensorimotor integration and cognitive stimulation. Thus, it could be a treatment option to improve fatigue, balance and walking abilities in PwMS; consequently, Pilates could be suggested by the clinician as a physical activity to be integrated in the daily life. This possibility could be made more feasible using new tools such as those offered by low cost devices. The main MS-FIT project purposes are to provide and to test a tool based on serious game concept of Pilates-inspired exercises for daily use at home, by mixing the entertainment aspects typical of the videogames and the possibility to perform physical activity. The MS-FIT tool does not pursue therapeutic aims as rehabilitation does, but it could have a positive impact on prevention and health in MS. MS-FIT, by using the Microsoft Kinect Motion Controller Xbox or similar to deliver adapted physical activity, offers the possibility to transform the Pilates exercises into a virtual reality game. MS-FIT, through a multicentre approach, would provide: a feasibility study in order to: refine the tool for the final customized version to be used in a RCT MS study assess the tool for PwMS in terms of technology acceptability and satisfaction-to-use assess the process of recruitment, the adherence to the intervention, the dropout rate and identify potential issues assess human resources necessary for the RCT estimate the effect of the intervention and its variance necessary to calculate the appropriate sample size for the RCT a RCT study in order to evaluate the effect of a physical activity intervention of exercises inspired to Pilates self-managed at home in terms on PwMS

Inflammatory synaptopathy is a prominent pathogenic mechanism in multiple sclerosis (MS) and in its mouse model, which can cause excitotoxic damage by long-lasting excessive synaptic excitation and, consequentially, drives disease progression by leading to motor and cognitive deficits. As synaptopathy occurs early during the disease course and is potentially reversible, it represents an appealing therapeutic target in MS. Although reliable biomarkers of MS synaptopathy are still missing, recent researches highlighted miR-142-3p as a possible candidate. Indeed, miR-142-3p has been described to promote the IL-1beta-dependent synaptopathy by downregulating GLAST/EAAT1, a crucial glial transporter involved in glutamate homeostasis. Furthermore, mir-142-3p has been suggested as a putative negative MS prognostic factor and a target of current MS disease modifying therapies. The hypothesis of this study is that miR-142-3p represents a good biomarker for excitotoxic synaptopathy to predict MS course, and, possibly, treatment efficacy at individual level, including both pharmacological strategies and non-pharmacological interventions, like therapeutic transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to ameliorate MS spasticity. To this aim, the role of miR-142-3p in MS synaptopathy, its potential impact on the efficacy of disease-modifying treatments currently used in MS therapy as well as the influence of genetic variants (SNPs) of miR-142-3p and GLAST/EAAT1 coding genes on the responsiveness to therapeutic TMS, will be further investigated in the study. By validating miR-142-3p as potential biomarker of synaptopathy, it is expect to improve MS prognosis and personalized therapies. Patients with MS, who will undergo neurological assessment, conventional brain MRI scan, and CSF and blood withdrawal for diagnostic and clinical reasons at the Neurology Unit of IRCCS INM-Neuromed will be enrolled in the study. Neurophysiological, biochemical and genetic parameters together with lower limb spasticity will be evaluated. Subjects, who will undergo blood sampling and/or lumbar puncture for clinical suspicions, later on not confirmed, will be recruited as control group. A subgroup of MS patients showing lower limb spasticity will be included in a two-week repetitive TMS stimulation protocol (iTBS) to correlate the patient responsiveness to this non-pharmacological treatment with MS-significant SNPs of both miR-142-3p and GLAST/EAAT1 coding genes.

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of training performed with the LUNA-EMG system to enhance motor functions of the lower limb in multiple sclerosis. This is a randomized open-label trial. Patients will be randomized into the intervention group (LUNA-EMG, 30-45 minutes once a week for 12 weeks) or in the control group (standard care). The effect of the training will be measured based on the muscular strength, walking tests, proprioception and a quality of life questionnaire.

RAPA-501-ALS is a phase 2/3 expansion cohort study of RAPA-501 autologous hybrid TREG/Th2 cells in patients living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (pwALS).

This study will compare ofatumumab vs. European approved platform first line self-administered disease modifying therapy (DMT) in newly diagnosed MS patients

The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of ION363 on clinical function and survival in carriers of fused in sarcoma mutations with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FUS-ALS).

Weight loss is a known negative prognostic factor in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). One potential mechanism of weight loss in ALS is a disturbance of the mitochondrial complex I which causes an energy deficit in affected cells. Over the last years, various interventional studies targeting the energy deficit in ALS yielded promising results; however,it is still unclear which kind of nutrition or nutritional supplement is most beneficial. Ketone bodies represent a logical therapeutic option in ALS as ketone bodies are an extremely high-energetic substrate which yields the double amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) per mole compared to glucose. The human liver is able to synthesize ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetone, and aceto-acetate) from fat in times of glucose shortage, for example after a prolonged period of fasting. This metabolic shift is the underlying principle of the ketogenic diet, a carbohydrate-free, fat-rich diet which has been successfully tested in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. In the ALS mouse model, a ketogenic diet was associated with a slower decline of motor function. However, a ketogenic diet is difficult to implement in ALS as it requires a long-term change of eating habits, which is difficult to achieve due to progressive dysphagia, fast worsening of general condition, and limited survival. Therefore, the direct administration of ketone bodies yields a more realistic alternative in ALS as it is easy to apply and allows to maintain the usual eating habits. In this study, we hypothesize that the administration of 3 x 10 g beta hydroxybutyrate ester per day (in addition to normal food intake and the standard medication of 2 x 50 mg riluzole) slows down disease progression as measured by neurofilament light chains (NfL) in serum after 6 months compared to placebo. Power calculation relies on the results of the lipids and calories for ALS (LIPCAL-ALS) study which tested the effect of a high-caloric fatty nutritional supplement in ALS. The study revealed that NfL serum values declined significantly in the intervention group while remaining stable in the placebo group over the course of the study. Assuming a similar effect size for ketone bodies, we calculated that 76 patients had to be included in the current trial.

This will be a multistate, multicenter clinical study to determine the efficacy and safety of medical cannabis for a wide variety of chronic medical conditions.

This study is a randomized multicentre, multinational, treatment interventional study of RRMS patients with breakthrough inflammatory disease activity in spite of ongoing standard immunomodulatory medication. The study has two treatment arms; arm A: HSCT (hematopoietic stem cell transplantation) and arm B: alemtuzumab, cladribine or ocrelizumab. A pre-planned 3-year follow-up extension period will be performed depending on future funding. The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness and side effects of a new treatment intervention in RRMS; HSCT, and, thereby, the value of HSCT in clinical practice. Data from recently published patient series indicate that HSCT may have a significantly higher treatment effect than currently registered RRMS immunomodulatory treatments. This study will determine the relative role of HSCT versus alemtuzumab, cladribine or ocrelizumab.