View clinical trials related to Cerebrospinal Fluid.
Filter by:Xanamem™ is being developed as a potential drug for Alzheimer's disease. This study drug has been designed to change the cortisol levels in the brain. Cortisol is a naturally occurring hormone in the body. It is believed that reducing the level of cortisol will be a benefit in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The XanaHES study is testing the safety and tolerability of Xanamem. It is planned to enrol approximately 84 participants, male and female aged from 50 to 75 who are in good health, in the study at 1 centre in Australia. The XanaHES Phase I study is a single-blind study. Subjects will be randomised to receive either 20mg once daily Xanamem or Placebo in cohort 1. Once all subjects have completed the study treatment of 12 weeks, a dose escalation committee will decide if a new cohort, cohort 2, with 30mg once daily vs placebo is started.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a uniformly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no known cure. In a novel attempt to widen the search for potential therapeutic agents, a NINDS- led cooperative group performed an in-vitro screening program of 1040 FDA approved drugs in over 28 assays relevant to various neurodegenerative disorders. Several cephalosporins showed hits in ALS relevant assays. Efficacy was noted in models suggesting increased expression of the astrocytic glutamate transporter, EAAT2, as well as models of superoxide dismutase mediated toxicity. Ceftriaxone is a third generation cephalosporin with good CNS penetration, a long half-life, and was effective in both types of ALS assays. Ceftriaxone has calcium binding activity, antioxidant properties, and rescues motor neurons in culture from chronic glutamate toxicity. Since completion of the original NINDS screen, Ceftriaxone has been shown to increase by three fold EAAT2 activity in rodent brains, due to ceftriaxone's ability to increase EAAT2 promotor activation This program is for the use of ceftriaxone in ALS for compassionate care. Currently ceftriaxone is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating bacterial infections but not for treating ALS. However, there is an ongoing phase I study -by NEALS Consortium and the National Institute of Health- with three cohorts -a placebo group and two groups receiving either 2 or 4 grams of ceftriaxone daily-. Unfortunately there are only a limited number of patients being enrolled and the next phase of the project will not be undertaken until next year. At this point there are ALS patients unable to participate in this Phase I trial and unlikely to be alive when the next phase of study begins. Some of these patients want to receive the drug and are willing to pay for the drug and nursing care. We are therefore requesting a compassionate use protocol for these patients who request the medication and are willing to pay for the drug and nursing care to administer it. Dr. Terry Heiman-Patterson will supervise the administration and safety monitoring including labs for renal and hepatic function as well as IV site inspection.
The purpose of a CSF repository is to collect samples of spinal fluid from controls and patients with neurologic disorders including but not exclusively ALS, Dementia, CRPS, neuropathies, and other neuromuscular diseases. This CSF repository will allow the use of CSF in biochemical studies of various neurologic diseases. It would also provide a supply of the necessary normal and disease control patients. CSF would be obtained from patients who are undergoing spinal taps for other reasons including diagnosis, treatment, or participation in clinical trials. We are proposing to collect an additional < 3 ml of CSF from a lumbar puncture that is already being performed for diagnostic or therapeutic reasons, in order to store it in our laboratory for use in future research studies. No lumbar punctures will be initiated specifically for this protocol.