View clinical trials related to Multiple Sclerosis.
Filter by:Fatigue is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Exercise is suggested as a way to improve fatigue, but it is not clear what the effects of exercise are on fatigue - especially in people with progressive MS. Therefore, this study aims to test the feasibility of a tailored exercise programme to help improve fatigue in people with progressive MS. To do this people with progressive MS who are experiencing fatigue will be randomly allocated to receive either a tailored exercise programme, a standard exercise programme, or their usual care. Both exercise programmes will be 8 weeks long and require participants to attend Falkirk Community Hospital twice a week. The standard exercise programme involves a moderate intensity interval training session using a stationary exercise bike. The tailored exercise programme is similar to the standard exercise programme, as participants will be prescribed the same type and duration of exercise; however, the difference between the 2 programmes is that the intensity of exercise performed during each session of the tailored exercise programme is dictated by the participant's level of fatigue. Participants will complete an exercise test, walking test, and questionnaires relating to fatigue, quality of life, depression and anxiety, sleep quality, and cognition before and 1 week after completing the exercise programme.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are more susceptible to infections than the general population in relation to some specific therapies or increasing disability. Clearly, the use of immuno-suppressant/modulatory drugs requires particular attention to the occurrence of infectious events. In this perspective, among still unmet clinical needs in MS patients is a comprehensive picture on the immunisation status against infectious diseases, especially those preventable with vaccines. Despite of the relevance of vaccinations, there are still some concerns about their utilization in MS patients. In literature, results about their safety are conflicting or incomplete and it is yet unclear if some vaccines may trigger MS relapses. GOALS: 1) to assess immunisation status, due to past exposure to natural infectious diseases or vaccines, against major infectious agents preventable by available vaccines; 2) to assess the safety of most utilized vaccines in the clinical practice by recording relapses as adverse event in the considered risk period after vaccination. The 3-year project is conceived as a multicenter, observational, both retro- and prospective study. A cohort of about 3,000 MS subjects will be enrolled among databases of 25 clinical Centers in Italy. All patients diagnosed with relapsing remitting (RR) MS according to the 2010 Polman's criteria from 01/2011 to 12/2020 will be enrolled. Available data on natural immunisation will be collected from the historical clinical records of Centers, taking into account the presence of specific serum antibodies, whereas available data on vaccinations will be collected from vaccination records. To study the impact of vaccines on the risk of relapse, data about patients receiving a vaccination during the disease will be analysed. The study follow-up period will be between 2 and up to 6 months following vaccination: the 2-month period is considered as the maximum clinical risk, whereas 6 months as the maximal extension of risk in time. In addition, in the case of a clinical relapse, the variation of disability will be evaluated with EDSS scale confirmed at 6 months. These data might shed light on the relationship between vaccination and MS, adding new insights on their safety. The knowledge of the immunisation status is crucial for the clinical practice in the management of the new disease modifying drugs (DMDs), and for the public health to establish the possible need of a vaccine campaign targeted to MS patients.
Exercise or active rehabilitation is a non-pharmacological approach increasingly used for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), in support of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), with the aim of improving the quality of life and engagement in daily activities. Exercise improves several disease outcomes, like cardiovascular and neuromuscular functions and walking abilities. However, its disease modifying potential is poorly explored. Exercise might target two relevant disease hallmarks that are interconnected, such as the dysregulated immune system and the inflammatory synaptopathy. Exercise might act through the activation of the autonomic part of the vagus nerve, which is an important modulator of both the innate and adaptive immune system, through the so-called cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway-CAP. This study aims to address the effect of exercise in reducing peripheral inflammation that drives the synaptic pathology and neurodegeneration occurring in the brain of MS patients. Patients will undergo a therapeutic exercise program, consisting of 3 hours of treatment per day, 6 days/week for a total of 6 weeks. The treatment will include both passive and active therapeutic exercises targeted to restore or preserve muscular flexibility, motor coordination and ambulatory function. The day of recruitment (time 0) patients will undergo neurological and mood examination and blood withdrawal to analyze peripheral markers of immune function. Moreover, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) will be used to measure synaptic transmission, while the heart rate variability (HRV) test will be performed to explore vagal function. The effect of exercise will be evaluated at the end of rehabilitation (after 6 weeks-time 1), on the above parameters. A follow up will be included (time 2, 8 weeks after the end of the treatment) to address long-term effects on neurologic and mood measurements as well as peripheral marker levels.
Impairments of walking function after spinal cord lesion due to, for example, inflammation, ischemia or trauma are exceptionally diverse. Depending on the size, location and completeness of the spinal cord lesion, gait dysfunction is often multifactorial, arising from weakness of leg muscles, sensory impairments or spasticity. Locomotor function in humans with spinal cord damage can be improved through training. However, there are no evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of gait dysfunctions and no excepted standards of gait training in this large and heterogeneous group of patients. A lack of evidence-based guidance and standardisation prevents the development of optimal training programs for patients with spinal cord damage and rather broad and subjective clinical judgement is applied to determine patient care. Objective and quantitative techniques like three-dimensional (3D) full-body movement analysis capable of identifying the most relevant determinants of gait dysfunction at the single-patient-level are not yet implemented as diagnostic tool to guide physical therapy in this heterogeneous group of patients. The objective of this project is to further advance current clinical locomotor training strategies by applying a deficit-oriented gait training approach based on subject-specific, objective gait profiles gleaned from 3D gait analysis in chronic, mildly to moderately gait-impaired individuals with spinal cord damage due to inflammation (in multiple sclerosis, MS) or with traumatic or ischemic spinal cord injury (SCI; motor incomplete). Within a parallel-group clinical trial, gait impaired subjects will be characterized by detailed kinematic 3D gait analysis and either trained according to their individual deficits or treated with non-specific, standard walking therapy for six weeks. It is hypothesized that individually adapted, deficit-oriented training is superior in improving walking function than purely task-related, ambulatory training in patients with spinal cord damage. This project may pave the way to more efficient training approaches in subjects with spinal cord damage by transferring and implementing modern gait assessment techniques into clinical neurorehabilitation and to move towards individual, patient-tailored locomotor training programs.
B cells are considered major contributors to multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis, a role that has taken on renewed importance with the advent of B-cell-depleting therapies. Rituximab is being increasingly utilized as an off-label treatment option across MS patients . In addition, there have been increasing reports of rituximab causing hypogammaglobulinaemia and antibody deficiency across a variety of conditions including MS and related neuroinflammatory disorders. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the rate of hypogammaglobulinemia in rituximab-treated MS adult patients and to assess the correlation with vaccination response during the treatment.
This study will be a single-centre, prospective, single-arm, open-label pilot trial assessing the feasibility and safety of unilateral MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy for refractory hand tremor in up to 12 patients with multiple sclerosis (relapsing-remitting, primary progressive or secondary progressive MS). This study will be conducted at the Focused Ultrasound Centre of Excellence and MS Clinic located at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre/ University of Toronto. Patients with stable MS and refractory hand tremor providing informed consent will receive MRgFUS thermal ablation of the Vim thalamus contralateral to the most affected side of the body (frequently this will be the dominant hand).
The purpose of this study is to determine whether MS patients who receive Oral mitoquinone (MitoQ) have less fatigue than those receiving a placebo. A comparison between patient's fatigue scored at baseline and fatigue scored 12 weeks after drug initiation will assess if MitoQ has a significant change in fatigue.
The aim of this study is to identify whether it is possible to safely discontinue treatment in relapsing-onset MS patients who have shown no evidence of active inflammation in the years prior to inclusion clinically and/or radiologically. The secondary objectives address the questions whether the discontinuation of first-line treatment has an effect on disability progression and whether the discontinuation of first-line treatment improves the quality of life for the patient. Furthermore, blood collections will be included to assess whether it is possible to retrospectively predict possible return of inflammatory activity with biomarkers such as neurofilament light (NFL) or patient characteristics such as disease activity prior to disease modifying therapy (DMT). In case of emerging disease activity after the cessation of therapy we will assess if reinitiation will lead to NEDA again, and if there are long-term consequences. If possible, post-hoc analysis are performed for the different types of treatment compounds.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic and highly disabling disorder with considerable social impact and economic consequences. It is caused by damage to the myelin sheath, the protective covering that surrounds nerve cells. Different areas are affected, including upper airway function, trunk motor control and cardiorespiratory performance. The aim of this study was to determinate the relevance of trunk motor control in upper airway function and cardiorespiratory performance in patients with multiple sclerosis.
The E-TIPS trial will evaluate an evidence-based, telehealth pain self-management intervention compared to standard care (a waitlist) for chronic pain in adults with physical disabilities who are employed. Participants from anywhere in the US will be randomized to either E-TIPS, a cognitive-behavioral pain self-management intervention delivered by telephone, or a waitlist control. Outcomes, including pain interference, will be assessed at baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment, and 6-month follow up.