View clinical trials related to Motor Neuron Disease.
Filter by:Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder, usually leading to death from respiratory failure in 3-5 years. Riluzole, the only drug currently available, only modestly prolongs survival and does not improve muscle strength or function. In ALS, loss of functional motor neurons is initially compensated for by collateral reinnervation and strength is preserved. In the majority of ALS patients, as the disease progresses, compensation fails leading to progressive muscle weakness. Conversely, in long-term ALS survivors, slow functional decline is correlated with their ability to maintain a successful compensatory response to denervation over time. Compensatory collateral reinnervation is thus essential for functional motor preservation and survival, and elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved is crucial to help identify new therapeutic targets. Energy metabolism and glucose homeostasis modifications also influence disease clinical course but the mechanisms by which they contribute to the progression of ALS are unknown. Weight loss is an independent negative prognostic factor for survival and, by contrast, ALS risk and progression are decreased in individuals with high body mass index and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Insulin shares many common steps in its signaling pathways with insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and is thus at the interface between glucose homeostasis regulation and maintenance of muscle mass. However, the contribution of insulin signaling to preservation of muscle innervation and function in ALS has never been investigated. With this study, we aim to determine the role of insulin signaling pathways in maintenance of collateral reinnervation and muscle function in ALS. We will also investigate the link with the disease-modifying effect of metabolic and glucose homeostasis perturbations, by identifying the contribution of metabolic profiles to preservation of skeletal muscle innervation and motor function in patients with ALS. For this purpose, we will determine the whole-body and skeletal muscle metabolic profiles of 20 patients with ALS and correlate these results to collateral reinnervation ability quantified on muscle biopsy specimens. For each patient, we will use both clinical and electrophysiological methods to evaluate motor function and motor neuron loss over time. Body composition, insulin secretion, insulin resistance level and serum concentrations of IGF-1 axis components will be determined. A motor point muscle biopsy will be performed for morphological analysis of neuromuscular junctions and quantification of innervation by confocal microscopy. Activation of insulin/IGF-1 canonical signaling pathways and metabolic pathways of glucose homeostasis will be quantified in muscle specimens. Skeletal muscle and whole-body metabolic parameters will be analyzed together and correlated with clinical assessment of motor function, electrophysiological data, and innervation quantification results. For comparison, 10 healthy subjects of similar age and 10 patients with spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy - a slowly progressive motor neuron disorder with maintenance of effective collateral reinnervation - will be used as controls. This study will be the first to address the question of the contribution of insulin signaling pathways and metabolic profiles in maintenance of muscle reinnervation and function in ALS patients. The molecular mechanisms identified will be new targets for future treatments promoting compensatory reinnervation and slowing disease progression in ALS. Ultimately, this translational project could have a significant therapeutic impact in disorders with muscle denervation and collateral reinnervation as a compensatory mechanism, such as spinal muscle atrophy or peripheral neuropathies.
The specific aims of this study are to: 1. Determine if a painless and quick measurement of muscle activity using surface electrodes can help with the diagnosis of ALS. Specifically, we ask if a measure of intermuscular coherence (IMC-βγ), when added to current diagnostic criteria (Awaji criteria), can differentiate ALS from mimic diseases more accurately and earlier than currently possible. 2. Characterize IMC-βγ in neurotypical subjects by age, sex, race, and ethnicity. 3. Follow a cohort of ALS patients longitudinally to determine if IMC-βγ changes with ALS disease progression and whether such changes correlate with functional and clinical scores, or survival.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a serious rapidly progressive disease of the nervous system. The mean survival from the time of diagnosis is 2.5 years. Apart from Riluzole, there is no effective treatment. Care of advanced ALS will have a cost of 4-8 million NOK (Norwegian kroner) per year. Research i.a. from the investigators department has shown that increased activity in histone deacetylation enzymes (sirtuins) together with increased access to Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD) can delay disease progression. Nicotinamide riboside (NR) can increase cells' access to NAD and Pterostilbene will stimulate sirtuins. The investigators want to study whether combination therapy with NR and Pterostilbene can inhibit neurodegeneration in ALS and thereby delay disease development, increase survival and improve quality of life in ALS. In the NO-ALS extension study the investigators will follow the patients who completed the original NO-ALS study. Objectives are to evaluate adverse events and give patients possibility of compassionate use, and secondarily to see if the combination of NR and pterostilbene (EH301) will decrease progression of motor symptoms and loss of vital capacity, and increase survival time in patients with ALS.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a progressive, terminal condition of muscle weakness that is associated with degeneration of neurons in the spinal cord and brain. This devastating disorder afflicts people in the prime of their lives. At the present time, there are no cures for this disorder, and current treatments are marginal at best. Despite years of intensive research, a fundamental understanding of this disease is still lacking. There is a need to identify both reliable markers of disease progression and effective treatments. The goal of this research is to bring a greater understanding of ALS patients closer to the research studies that can lead to new hypotheses and approaches.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability, PK, and PD of AP-101 in participants with fALS and sALS.
Objective: The primary objective in this study is to identify which (pheno)type of ALS patient has the most benefit from NIV in improving quality of life. Study population: Adult patients with ALS, PLS (Primary Lateral Sclerosis) of PSMA (Progressive Spinal Muscular Atrophy) in the Netherlands. Patients will be included during their first visit to one of the HMV centres in the Netherlands. Main study parameters/endpoints: The main study parameter is change in Quality of Life (QoL) defined as change in ALS Assessment Questionnaire (ALSAQ-40) in patients with ALS after initiation of NIV. Design: Multi-centre prospective cohort study consisting of 2 non-randomized cohorts, i.e. ALS patients who start NIV and ALS patients who do not start NIV at the time of inclusion in the present study. Duration: The total duration of the study: 3,5 years. Inclusion period: 30 months. Follow up time after initiation of NIV: 9 months. Thereafter, 6 months will be used for data analysis. Setting: Involvement of all (4) HMV centres in the Netherlands (Groningen, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Utrecht). Procedure: 250 ALS patients will be included. During the first regular visit to the HMV centre patients will be asked to participate in the study. Data will be recorded during regular visits to the HMV centre.
This is a Phase II, single centre, randomized, parallel, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to determine the safety of Withania somnifera in participants with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
The primary objective of the study is to demonstrate the safety and potential efficacy of TJ-68 for improving muscle cramps in participants with ALS based on a two-site, randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind multi-period crossover (N-of-1) study design.
This was a cross-sectional study in which patients were divided into 20 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 20 patients with peroneal muscular dystrophy, 20 patients with Kennedy's disease and 30 healthy controls, in which patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis continued to be followed up for 1 year and the results of 4 cross-sectional examinations were taken.
Chinese cnaq scale was used to evaluate the appetite changes of Chinese ALS patients; Objective to investigate the related factors of appetite changes in ALS patients; Objective to investigate the effect of anorexia on the progression and survival of ALS patients.