View clinical trials related to Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
Filter by:The first cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA; Nusinersen) has been approved by FDA in 2017. Although it improves the clinical picture of most SMA patients, not all exhibit the same response to treatment. In this project the aim will be: i. identifying cell-free SMN circular RNAs (circRNAs) in body fluids of SMA patients as potential biomarkers before and after Nusinersen; ii. evaluating their prognostic power as predictors of the clinical response of SMA patients to Nusinersen; iii. identifying human intronic polymorphisms that affect SMN circRNAs biogenesis and impact on the efficacy of Nusinersen. The results obtainable with this project will evaluate if different concentration of cell free SMN circRNAs in SMA patients could underlie the genotype-phenotype mismatch, usually observed, and the reduced response of a subset of SMA patients to therapy. Our research could highlight the need for these of combinatorial 'SMN-plus' and "personalized" therapies that account for individual differences.
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a life-threatening disease in infancy that is caused by inactivating mutations in the Survival Motor Neuron 1 (SMN1) gene1,2. SMN1 mutations lead to deficiency in SMN protein, which results in degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord, progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. The almost identical SMN2 gene does not suffice SMN function, because skipping of exon 7 in its mRNA yields an unstable protein. Nevertheless, SMN2 represents a disease modifier gene and increasing its expression or rescuing its splicing defect have long been considered elective strategies for SMA1,2. After substantial translational research efforts, the first therapies eliciting clinical benefits for SMA patients have recently become available3. Nusinersen, an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), and Risdiplasm, a small molecule, bind the SMN2 RNA and promote splicing of exon 7. On the other hand, Zolgesma, an adeno-associated virus delivering the SMN1 gene (scAAV9-SMN), bypasses the need to correct the splicing defect. Nevertheless, none of these therapies currently represents a complete cure for patients, because not all of them respond equally and in a significant portion of patients the symptoms are attenuated but not corrected3. It is believed that early treatment, possibly at a pre-symptomatic stage, would positively affect the clinical response and may significantly improve patient's management. However, another critical point is the current lack of information on the long-term efficacy and safety of the current treatments4. In this scenario, it is likely that further elucidation of the biological functions of the SMN genes and the identification of robust biomarkers for stratification of patients will set the ground for more "personalized" therapies, which may account for the clinical variability observed in patients and help improving the therapies in use.
SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) is a rare neuromuscular disease characterized by motoneuron damage. Symptoms consist of respiratory involvement with numerous respiratory infections and eventually respiratory failure, for which NIV (Non Invasive Ventilation) is often used. Ventilation machines are in close contact with the respiratory tract of patients. They contain heated water to humidify the circuit. These humid and warm environments are conducive to the development of bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this context, it is interesting to look for the presence or absence of bacteria, in comparison with the respiratory ecology of the patients. The aim is to highlight the microbiological role of NIV on the occurrence of respiratory bacterial infections or secondary infections in patients with SMA. To do this, samples are taken from the machines, and ECBCs are performed on patients during respiratory physiotherapy sessions.
Motor neuron disease (MND) or ALS is a nervous system disease. ALS leads to a loss of movement ability that eventually leads to death. At the moment, there is no known treatment for ALS. Early diagnosis in individuals improves clinical care and facilitates timely entry into clinical trials. However, current methods for diagnosis are primarily clinical, and to date, no cost-effective biomarkers have been developed. Our objective is to identify a robust non-invasive neurophysiological-based system that can be used both as a biomarker of disease onset, and a measurement of progression using quantitative EEG and surface EMG (bipolar and high-density). The investigators postulate that analysing the joint recordings of EEG and EMG (bipolar or high-density) can give measures that better distinguish healthy people and ALS patient subgroups and that the findings can be developed as biomarkers of early diagnosis and disease progression.
An outpatient rehabilitation program for children (6 months to less than 6 years old) with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) treated with genetic based therapies is being studied. Participants will participate in a 12-week therapy program where they receive 45 minutes each of occupational therapy and physical therapy each week. Home exercises will also be prescribed to be completed 5 days per week. At the end of the therapy program, there will be a 12-week period of no therapy where only home exercises will be completed. Assessments and program evaluation will occur at the beginning (Week 0) and end of the rehabilitation program (Week 24), then at the end of the no therapy block (week 24).
The group of children diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) has serious restrictions on participation. SMA is a neuromuscular disease that leads to neuromusculoskeletal disorders that limit functional activities, sometimes making it impossible to sit down autonomously and to walk. Scientific evidence has highlighted the importance of implementing physiotherapy interventions in pediatrics that facilitate the integration and participation of children with reduced mobility in their natural environment through the use of different assisted mobility devices that allow the child to acquire a degree of independence and motivation according to their potential and needs. For some time, with the aim of offering independent movement opportunities for children with severe motor impairment, adapted electric cars have been used, as they are simple to use and easy for the child and family to incorporate into daily tasks within natural environments. These low-cost motorized devices can generate a very positive impact on the participation of children diagnosed with SMA type I from an early age, after training the family and/or the child himself, guaranteeing the maximum possible safety, comfort, motivation and autonomy. Due to the above, there is a need to carry out the research project defined below, to generate opportunities for the inclusion of children diagnosed with SMA type I through the use of low-cost electric cars that encourage their participation, motivation and quality of life.
This study will focus on the pathophysiological underpinnings of reduced exercise capacity and fatigue in ambulatory patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). There has been laboratory evidence to suggest that the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial biogenesis may be vulnerable to survival motor neuron (SMN) protein deficiency. This is an observational, single visit study including 34 ambulatory SMA patients treated with SMN repletion therapies (risdiplam or nusinersen) for at least 6 months at enrollment.
The primary objective of the Schulze study is to evaluate the function of the upper limbs of subjects diagnosed with neuromuscular disorders, with and without use of the Abilitech Assist device in the clinic and home environments. Functional outcomes will include documenting active range of motion and the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) using the standardized Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and the Role Evaluation of Activities of Life (REAL) assessments. Secondary objectives are to assess the safety record and report on adverse events (AEs) and parameters related to device usage, including device usage time and the time required to don/doff the device. Secondary objectives also include characterization of user upper limb performance based on etiology.
Spinal muscular atrophy is a hereditary motorneuron disease caused by a mutation of the SMN1 gene, which is at the origin of a progressive limb and axial motor deficiency. It concerns 1200 individuals in France, including 700 adults in 2018. The main objective of this study is to assess the quality of life of SMA patients in France. The secondary objectives are, in one hand, to compare the quality of life of SMA patients to a population of neuromuscular diseases patients. And on the other hand to evaluate the determinants of participation and the impact of participation on quality of life in adult SMA patients.
The randomized controlled trial is aimed to discover the physiotherapy and hippotherapy effect and efficacy on children with SMA. The concept is to utilized two types of physiotherapy - the first concept is classic physiotherapy and the second one is hippotherapy. The hippotherapy concept will be in intervals of 15 minutes twice a day, the physiotherapy will be in intervals of 30 minutes once a day. In-patient therapy will be for 6 days. The efficacy will be assessed by biomedical measures - Qualisys Motion Capture Systems 2020.3., by molecular biological markers (lncRNA) in blood and by surface electromyography (EMG). The primary goal of this study is to compare two physiotherapeutic approaches - the recommended form of classical physiotherapy and the method on a neurophysiological basis - hippotherapy. The secondary intention of the research will be the appropriate intensity of therapy so that unwanted muscle fatigue does not occur.