View clinical trials related to Nervous System Diseases.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to collect biofluid samples for the banking and usage in ALS research. Through comparison of these samples, the researchers hope to learn more about the underlying cause of ALS, as well as find unique biological markers, which could be used to develop new therapies.
Metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, glucose intolerance and possibly metabolic syndrome can induce a peripheral neuropathy. To investigate the effect of physical training and diet education on neuropathic symptoms and neurophysiological parameters of patients with metabolic neuropathies.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a complex multi-factorial disease, with underlying both genetic and environmental factors. Different populations have different susceptibility to MS. The disease is characterized by 2 main phenotypes: relapsing-remitting or progressive course. Clinical disability is due to distraction of the central nervous system (CNS) myelin. Repair processes are mainly noted after the acute relapse - and recovery of function can be spontaneous. However, in severe relapses sometimes there is need for STEROID TREATMENT. For the long term prophylaxis - following the increased understanding of the disease, in the last 10-15 years, there are new immunotherapies available (COPAXON / TEVA; Interferon -beta). However these can attenuate the disease (reduce the number of relapses per year) but cannot cure it. Also, they are beneficial in only ~40 % of the Relapsing -Remitting patients. Currently there are no biomarkers available for MS (other than oligoclonal Immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the cervical spine fluid (CSF) - which helps confirm diagnosis but require an invasive procedure and are not correlated with disease activity nor response to therapy) and monitoring of MS and its treatment is by magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) - which is an expensive procedure. Dr Hossam Haick from the Technion developed an electronic nose based on nanomaterials for diagnosis of diseases (e.g., cancer, kidney failure, etc.) via breath samples.The research hypothesis is that Biomarkers of CNS inflammation and/or neurodegeneration and/or CNS repair in persons with MS can be detected by the "electronic nose".
This study examines the prognostic properties of immune parameters, clinical scores, electrophysiological tests (eeg, ssep, emg, eng) and functional imaging for the prediction of functional outcome one year after treatment on a neurological intensive care unit.
The intent of this clinical study is to answer the questions: 1. Is the proposed treatment safe 2. Is treatment effective in improving the disease pathology of patients with Multiple Sclerosis and clinical outcomes?
The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of a single administration of a DPP-IV inhibitor (vildagliptin: Galvus ®) versus no treatment over two populations of diabetic patients: without diabetic autonomic neuropathy (NA, i.e. the control group) and with diabetic autonomic neuropathy (i.e. the neuropathy group). The investigators hypothesize that the therapeutic efficacy of DPP-IV inhibitors is partly mediated by the autonomic nervous system. This hypothesis will be validated if a lower glycemic response to DPP-IV inhibitor treatment is observed for the neuropathy group compared to control.
Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective a2-adrenoreceptor agonist that produces dose-dependent sedation and analgesia without respiratory depression. Dexmedetomidine has been used in critically ill medical, surgical, and pediatric patients. No study has been designed specifically to evaluate dexmedetomidine uses in the neurocritical care population. The primary objective is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine for prophylactic analgesia and sedation in patients after intracranial surgery.
Psychosocial stress leads to altered neuroendocrine functions, such as serotonergic dysfunction, as well as alterations of the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity resulting in an imbalance between inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters. Clinical consequences include, inter alia, neurovegetative disorders, higher resting heart rate, hypertension, depressive symptoms, sleep disturbances, irregular body-weight changes, and insulin resistance. Poor dietary intake of the essential amino acid L-tryptophane as a precursor to 5-hydroxytryptamine (HT, serotonin) increases sensitivity to stress. It is therefore the investigators hypothesis that daily oral administration of an amino acid mixture (dosage 3.8 g/day) with micronutrients specifically designed to decrease neurovegetative disorders will target these neuroendocrine and metabolic alterations in adults with psychosocial stress. The principal endpoints will be a decrease in points in the psychological-neurological questionnaire (PNF).
At present, trabeculectomy is the most common performed and effective surgical method of filtration surgery for patients with medically uncontrolled glaucoma. The aim of this prospective observational case study is to determine changes of the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness using spectral domain optical coherence tomography in patients with glaucoma after surgical reduction of intraocular pressure.
Brief Summary The purpose of this study is to better characterize the retina and optic nerve in newborns using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (s-oct). This new technology provides a very detailed cross-section picture of the cellular layers in the retina and a 3-dimensional picture of the optic nerve head and the fovea (the center of the retina that provides the most accurate vision). These images have been used by doctors for more than 5 years to help diagnose and treat adults with eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachments, and melanoma. But, it has never been studied in newborns. In newborns, it would potentially help in the diagnoses of glaucoma, optic nerve hypoplasia, foveal hypoplasia, and colobomata among many other disorders. Prior to diagnosing disorders, it is necessary to establish normal values. It is the purpose of this investigation to study the retina and optic nerves in neonates to establish normal values. After a parent of a normal newborn provides a written consent, the baby will be taken to the Eye Clinic where the instrument is located. The baby will be swaddled in one or more blankets as needed. The infants will be held in front of the instrument by a nurse. The technician will move the lens of the instrument to about 2 to 4 inches from the baby's eye. The mild light from the instrument will then enter the eye for a few seconds to obtain the desired image. The image can be captured through an immobile eye within 5 seconds. If the baby is fussy, he or she may be given a few drops of a sugar (sucrose) solution on a pacifier for calming. Although the images can usually be secured through a normal pupil, if the pupil is found to be too small, two drops of Cyclomydril will be placed on the eye for dilation. This is the eye drop used everyday in the Eye Clinic and nursery to dilate the pupils of babies. The dilation will last for about 6 to 10 hours. After the test, the baby will return to the nursery or be discharged home as intended by the Neonatology Division. There is minimal risk associated with this investigation. The instrument is non-invasive and does not touch the eye. The babies will be swaddled and held by a nurse to prevent any contact with the machine. The eye drop to be used if needed for dilation has been used on babies at Harbor for about 30 years. It has been found to very safe. The fact that we will study only term (not premature babies) and will apply only two drops if needed should minimize any risk from the eye drop. An ethical issue to consider is that while the study will provide important information that will undoubtedly help babies in the future, it will probably not benefit the baby being studied. However, if the baby has an undetected retinal or optic nerve problem, the study may reveal it.