Active clinical trials for "Sclerosis"

This study was conducted to examine the effects of exercises performed with mechanical hippotherapy device and Cawthorne-Cooksey exercises on balance, dizziness, fatigue and quality of life in patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Nine Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients suffering an acute relapse from the outpatient or inpatient settings will be consented to be followed prospectively for three months post relapse, in an effort to identify markers of incomplete relapse recovery. Factor VIII-related labs will be drawn for three months without influencing standard of care treatment decisions. During this time, patients will be followed with clinical and diagnostic assessments in addition to blood tests including: Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite (MSFC), recovery surveys, and MRIs of the brain, cervical spine, and thoracic spine with and without contrast. Clinical, imaging, and Factor VIII-related lab data individually or in aggregate will be correlated with relapse presence, severity, and extent of recovery following standard treatment interventions.

On December 27th 2020, the implementation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in France first became available amongst all immunosuppressed patients at very high risk of severe Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) infection, specifically for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant recipients or other fragile immunosuppressed patients. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by dysregulation of the immune system, vascular damage and progressive fibrosis of the skin and internal organs (heart, lung and kidney) which may lead to severe comorbidities and SSc-related mortality. In severe rapidly progressive SSc, we and others demonstrated that autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is the only treatment so far allowing improvement in overall and event free survival up to 7 years after AHSCT. As soon as vaccines were available on January 1st, 2021 and following the French Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) and Société Francophone de Greffe de Moelle et de Thérapie Cellulaire (SFGM-TC) good clinical practices (GCP) guidelines, the ad hoc COVID19 vaccinations were proposed to all SSc patients in France, including those previously treated by AHSCT and followed at Maladies Auto Immunes et Thérapie Cellulaire (MATHEC) Center of Reference for stem cell therapy at St-Louis hospital. In July 2021, the Autoimmune Diseases Working Party (ADWP) and the European society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) guidelines recommended vaccination against SARS-CoV2 as early as 3 months after HSCT for autoimmune diseases. Only one Israeli study so far has analyzed the efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination after autologous HSCT (AHSCT) in SSc patients.. We therefore designed the present case control study retrospective study to assess the acceptance and effectiveness of this vaccination program in SSc patients treated by AHSCT as compared to other fragile SSc individuals. The Primary objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing the anti-SARS-CoV2 vaccination program according to the French GCP for COVID-19 prophylaxis in SSc fragile patients, in terms of risk of asymptomatic or symptomatic COVID-19 infection, among SSc patients treated by AHSCT compared to 1:1 matched non transplant SSc controls.

The investigator plans to test the use of the Ekso Bionics® Gait Training (Ekso GT™) exoskeleton for gait training in MS patients. The device will solely be used in the clinic under direct supervision from a physical therapist. This is a small PI-initiated uncontrolled pilot study to gather safety and feasibility data on the exoskeleton in individuals with MS and walking impairment.

This study is to examine the efficacy of tDCS to improving walking in people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS). Our study compromises 1 group of subjects with MS which will attend the lab for three sessions. In the first session, subjects will be consented, complete the Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), and maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) of the right and left knee extensors and flexors to determine the more-affected leg. The second and third sessions will involve whole-body FDG PET imaging. During each of these sessions, the subject will walk for 20 min on a treadmill at a self-selected speed during which time tDCS or SHAM, in a blinded manner, will be applied to the motor cortex (M1) corresponding to the more-affected leg. Approximately 2 minutes into the walking, [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) will be administered by IV injection. Immediately after the walking is completed, the subject will be positioned in the PET/CT scanner and a whole body (top of head to toes) PET/CT scan will be acquired for the evaluation of glucose metabolism in the brain, spine, and lower extremities. The third session will be identical to the second session with the exception that the opposite condition (tDCS or SHAM) will be used.

Many people with MS report sleep disturbances. However, objective data on sleep quality in MS, such as those obtained using actigraphy, remain scant, as do data about optimal therapeutic management. Melatonin is frequently used to improve sleep parameters, both in healthy and neurological populations. Altered melatonin regulation and signaling has been implicated in MS, through observations including (1) MS risk associated with shift work, (2) contribution of melatonin to seasonal risk of MS relapses, and (3) possible reduction of endogenous melatonin levels from exogenous corticosteroid administration. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have evaluated melatonin vs. placebo as a low-cost, low-risk agent to treat sleep disturbance in MS. To test this, we are conducting a randomized controlled pilot trial.

This is a multi-center, randomized, parallel arm, double-blind study with a total duration of subjects' participation of 48 weeks. Approximately 260 participants with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis will be randomized to receive 12 doses of either PB006 or EU-licensed Natalizumab.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a motor neuron disease, which is a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurons, the cells that control voluntary muscles of the body. The disorder causes muscle weakness and atrophy throughout the body due to the degeneration of the upper and lower motor neurons. Current drugs approved for ALS treatment only modestly slow disease progression. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive technique, which has been demonstrated to modulate cerebral excitability in several neurodegenerative disorders and modulate intracortical connectivity measures. In this randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study followed by an open-label phase, the investigators will evaluate whether a repetition of two-weeks' treatment with bilateral motor cortex anodal tDCS and spinal cathodal tDCS, after a six months interval, may further outlast clinical improvement in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and can modulate intracortical connectivity, at short and long term.

To assess preliminary safety and efficacy of ganaxolone as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of primary seizure types in patients with genetically- or clinically-confirmed TSC-related epilepsy through the end of the 12 week treatment period.

The aim of the study is to optimise the hand dexterity exercising program in virtual reality (VR) for patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Little research has been published on this topic, but the preliminary results are promising. Different levels of difficulty of a VR game will be tested. The patients will be assessed using neuropsychological tests of executive functions, visuospatial abilities, mental speed, flexibility and motor speed. Functional ability, coordination and cognitive abilities will also be assessed.