View clinical trials related to Neurodegenerative Disease.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to measure the amount of a protein in the brain known as tau using an imaging procedure called Positron Emission Tomography (PET/CT). Tau has been shown to build up in the brains of patients with injury to brain cells. This study looks at neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is an aggressive, deadly disease. ALS leads to destruction of the neural pathways which control the conscious movements of the muscles. This destruction leads to muscular dystrophy with increasing difficulties in moving, breathing, swallowing, and speaking. In the last phase of an ALS patient's life it is necessary with respiratory therapy in order to breathe. In average an ALS patient lives 3 years from the time he or she gets the diagnose. The cause of the disease is still unknown and there is currently no treatment which can stop the progression of the disease. Former clinical studies have indicated that the innate immune system and in particular the complement system plays a significant role in the progression of ALS. The complement system, which is activated in cascades, is part of the innate system but participates in the innate as well as the acquired immune system. Former clinical trials have been characterized by limited knowledge about both the complement system as well as to how it is measured. Today it is possible to measure directly on the different components of the complement system and to understand its contribution to the overall immune response. It is also possible today to detect defects of the complement system. All these progressions are the foundation for this project which is carried out in close cooperation with one of the world's leading researchers in the complement system, professor Peter Garred from Rigshospitalet. The aim is to make a national research project about ALS in order to investigate the role of the innate immune system, and especially the complement system, in patients with ALS. In the long term the hope is, that this will lead the way to a targeted and effective medical treatment to the people affected by this grave disease.
This is a phase II feasibility, safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy study of an e-Health application versus in-person nutritional counseling to maintain or increase weight in patients with neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). Primary Objectives include the feasibility, safety, tolerability and efficacy of an e-Health application to maintain or increase body weight compared to in-person nutritional counseling. Secondary Objectives are to measure the number of calories required to maintain or increase body weight in neurodegenerative diseases at all stages of the disease. Tertiary Objectives are to test the effects of an e-Health application compared to in-person nutritional counseling on disease progression using the ALSFRS-R, UHDRS or UDysRS, on survival, and on quality of life using the PROMIS SF v1.1 scale.
The overall goal of this project is to identify, assess and longitudinally monitor subjects who are interested in participating in brain research. Participants will enroll through the website, BrainHealthRegistry.org, and provide informed consent prior to any study activities. The website will collect a variety of information, including participants' overall health, memory complaints, family history of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD), mood status, sleep, diet, and exercise-all through self-reported online questionnaires. Participants will also be ask to take online cognitive tests, and to return to the website at regular intervals, to complete follow-up questionnaires and neuropsychological assessments. Everyone over the age of 18 is welcome to participate. To join the Brain Health Registry, please visit www.BrainHealthRegistry.org.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of HLA-haplo matched Allogenic Bone Marrow Derived stem cells("HYNR-CS-Allo inj"), through intrathecal delivery for the treatment in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS). This study is an open label, dose up and down study using the 3+3 design to assess the safety of HLA-haplo matched Allogenic Bone Marrow Derived stem cells("HYNR-CS-Allo inj")
This trial is a multicenter, unblinded, single-arm pilot study, lasting one year (plus one year extension Amendment n.3 25 August 2009, plus two years follow-up Amendment n.7) , to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the chelator therapy with deferiprone on cerebral iron accumulations. The drug will be administered in the dosage of 15 mg/kg twice daily. The safety and tolerability of the drug will be evaluated by measuring hemochrome every seven days with leukocyte formula count. At 3, 6 and 12 months from the start of treatment, a neurological evaluation will be performed using several specific evaluation scales (International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS); Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS); Burke-Fahn-Marsden (BFM)). Every 6 months of treatment, a brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) aimed at measuring iron overload quantitatively, if possible.
New technologies are giving people with motor disabilities alternative communication and control channels. The investigators are interested in using the Cyberlink Control System as a hands free means to access a computer for people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The goal of this project is to determine whether this device is a practical and realistic means for ALS patients to communicate with only the use of facial muscle, brainwave, and eye movements. The benefit of this study may be of substantial value to many people with severe motor impairment. Additionally, it is hoped that some of the study subjects may benefit by incorporating hands-free computer use into their daily lives. This study is intended to evaluate the effectiveness of the cyberlink as a tool for daily communication compared to the standard manual letter board.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neuromuscular condition characterized by weakness, muscle wasting, fasciculations and increased reflexes. Depending on the site of onset, individuals with ALS progressively lose control of their skeletal muscles; bulbar or the extremities. As symptoms worsen and spread, muscle atrophy becomes apparent and upper motor neuron symptoms such as spasticity complicate gait (in lower limb involvement) and manual dexterity (in upper limb involvement). The patients progress to a state of profound disability and have great difficulty in communicating; some may even be entirely "locked in" to their bodies. The capacity for simple communication could greatly improve their quality of life. New technologies are giving people with disabilities alternate communication and control options. One such instrument is the EEG-based Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) which can provide both communication and control functions to those who have lost muscle control. By recording electroencephalographic (EEG) signals or brain waves from the scalp and then decoding them, the Wadsworth BCI allows people to make selections on a computer screen [i] In this study we will be investigating the feasibility of using EEG-based Brain-Computer Interface technology as a communication solution for individuals with ALS. The specific question addressed will be: Can individuals with ALS use the BCI for communication when they present with extreme loss of neuromuscular control and severe communication impairments? The goal of the project is to determine whether this device is a practical and realistic means for individuals with ALS to communicate. The study is intended to evaluate both the complexity of the system and the degree to which each participant will be able to communicate. Trials will consist of asking the subject to follow a series of simple instructions and complete certain tasks while using the BCI. This study design requires that the individual live in the Philadelphia region. Please contact the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Department of Health and State University of New York at Albany directly if you reside outside of this area.
In order to streamline disease research in ALS and other motor neuron diseases, we have joined a consortium of clinical centers (Hershey and University of Pittsburgh) who will collaborate on clinical and basic research projects. As part of this collaboration, de-identified clinical data from subjects at each institution will be entered into a joint database kindly provided and maintained by the ALS Hope Foundation. This database is password protected and contains only de-identified information. In addition to clinical data, any research specimens that are available through IRB approved tissue collections will be linked to the subject so that the collaborating investigators can share samples and have the maximum information. This will enhance the usefulness of each specimen. Once established, the database will provide a resource in which clinical data on a large number of patients along with tissue (blood, urine, muscle, csf, and autopsy) samples will be readily available. This will expedite research by circumventing the delays in collecting specimens prospectively and increase the number of specimens available by allowing the collaborating researchers access to each others specimens. In each case there will be a formal request placed to use specimens that are at the other institutions. These specimens will be used for research in the ALS Center of Hope at the Drexel University College of Medicine and shared with outside investigators with valid IRB approved protocols.
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.