Clinical Research Directory

Investigating Complex Neurodegenerative Disorders Related to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia

Background: Neurodegenerative disorders can lead to problems in movement or memory. Some can cause abnormal proteins to build up in brain cells. Researchers want to understand whether these diseases have related causes or risk factors. Objective: To test people with movement or thinking and memory problems to see if they are eligible for research studies. Eligibility: People ages 18 and older with a neurodegenerative disorder associated with accumulation of TDP-43 or Tau proteins Design: Participants will have a screening visit. This may take place over 2-3 days. Tests include: Medical history Physical exam Questions about behavior and mood Tests of memory, attention, concentration, and thinking Movement measurement. The speed at which participants can stand up from a chair, tap their finger and foot, and walk a short distance will be measured. Some movements will be videotaped. They will be videotaped while they speak and read a paragraph. Blood tests. This might include genetic testing. Lung and breathing tests MRI. They will lie on a table that slides into a cylinder that takes pictures of the body. Some participants will get a dye through IV. Electromyography. A thin needle will be inserted into the muscles to measure electrical signals. Nerve tests. Small electrodes on the skin record muscle and nerve activity. A small piece of skin may be removed. A skin or blood sample may be taken to create stem cells. Optional lumbar puncture. A needle will be inserted into the space between the bones of the back to collect fluid. If participants are not eligible for current studies, they may be contacted in the future. ...

A Master Protocol (OLMP): A Study of LY4256984 in Participants With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Study OLMP is a master protocol that will support a collection of individual sub studies that share key design components. Participants from the originator study OWAA (NCT07100119) will be assigned to the appropriate study treatment group: Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis OL01 (NCT07571174). The studies aim to evaluate the safety and tolerability of different treatments in participants with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) that will last at least 96 weeks.

A Substudy of LY4256984 in Participants With Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The main purpose of this study is to assess the long-term safety and tolerability of LY4256984 in participants with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This study is a long-term extension of study J6I-MC-OWAA (NCT07100119) and is part of the OLMP (NCT07571200) master protocol that will last approximately 96 weeks.

Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) and Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

The goal of this study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of IVIg administration in conjunction with primary motor cortex BBB opening using the Next Generation Dome Helmet (NGDH) FUS in adult participants with ALS.

Pridopidine Phase 3 Study to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety in ALS

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if the drug pridopidine works to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in adults. It will also help to learn about the safety of pridopidine. The main question it aims to answer is: Does pridopidine slow disease progression of ALS? Researchers will compare pridopidine to a placebo (a look-alike substance that contains no drug) to see if pridopidine works to treat ALS. Participants will: Take pridopidine or a placebo by mouth every day for 48 weeks. Afterwards, all participants will take pridopidine for another 48 weeks. Visit the clinic once every 1-3 months for checkups and tests

Personalized Antisense Oligonucleotide for Participants With CHCHD10 ALS

This research project entails delivery of a personalized antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drug designed for individual participants with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) due to a pathogenic variant in CHCHD10

Personalized Antisense Oligonucleotide Therapy for A Single Participant With CHCHD10 ALS

This research project entails delivery of a personalized antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drug designed for a single participant with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) due to a pathogenic variant in CHCHD10

Personalized Antisense Oligonucleotide for a Single Participant With CHCHD10 ALS

This research project entails delivery of a personalized antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drug designed for a single participant with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) due to a pathogenic variant in CHCHD10

Study to Investigate the Safety of the Transplantation (by Injection) of Human Glial Restricted Progenitor Cells (hGRPs; Q-Cells®) Into Subjects With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

This study is a non-randomized, open-label, partially blinded, sequential cohort, dose-escalation study designed to obtain preliminary data on the safety, tolerability, and early efficacy of Q-Cells® transplantation in subjects with ALS. Following an initial cohort receiving cell transplants unilaterally in the lumbar spinal cord, subsequent cohorts will receive escalating doses transplanted unilaterally in cervical spinal cord. Subjects and outcome measure assessors will be blinded to side of treatment. The study will be conducted at sites with extensive clinical experience with the care of patients with ALS.

Natural History and Biomarkers of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia Caused by the C9ORF72 Gene Mutation

Background: \- Some people have a mutation in the C9ORF72 gene that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The mutation causes a small piece of DNA to repeat itself thousands of times. The C9ORF gene mutation mostly occurs in families. In those families, some persons have ALS and others have FTD. Occasionally the C9ORF gene mutation occurs in persons without a family history. Researchers want to understand how this gene causes different diseases. They will study how symptoms caused by the C9ORF gene develop and change over time. They will measure symptoms that occur in ALS and in FTD. In particular, they will measure strength, ability to move, thinking, and memory. They will also see if other tests are associated with progression of disease. These tests, called biomarkers, may help detect or measure C9ORF72 disease in the future. Objectives: \- To understand how symptoms change over time in people with mutations in a gene called C9ORF72, which causes ALS and FTD. Eligibility: \- Adults over age 18 who have this genetic mutation Design: * Participants will have up to 4 in-person visits and 3 telephone interviews over 3 years. Each in-person visit may take place over several days. They may be either inpatient or outpatient visits. * At each visit, participants will undergo a series of brain, language, and behavior tests. These will include: * Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. This uses magnets, radio waves, and computers to produce detailed pictures of the brain. * Collecting spinal fluid. The clinician will make the participant s back numb and then insert a needle to collect fluid. \<TAB\>- Blood samples will be taken. \<TAB\>- Participants will be asked to perform several language and movement tests. \<TAB\>- Small skin samples will be taken on one visit \- Between visits, participants will answer questions about their health over the phone 3 times.

Analysis of Human ALS Tissues and Registry of ALS Patients

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.

A Study to Investigate the Safety and Pharmacodynamics of a Single Intrathecal Injection (IT) of INS1202 in Participants With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

The primary objective of this dose-finding study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamics of single dose of INS1202 via IT administration in participants ≥ 18 to \<80 years of age with ALS who carry superoxide dismutase type 1 (SOD1) mutations or harbor no known ALS-related genetic mutation.

FUNCtion ALS: Aiming to Restore UNC13A Function in People Living With ALS

The FUNCtion Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1/2 trial to evaluate the safety and tolerability of TRCN-1023 in adults living with ALS. TRCN-1023 is an investigational medicine given as a single injection into the fluid surrounding the spine (intrathecal injection). The trial will also assess how the body processes the drug and whether it shows early signs of benefit over 24 weeks.

Neurodegenerative Alzheimer's Disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (NADALS) Basket Trial

This is an open-label, biomarker-driven basket trial of baricitinib in people with subjective cognitive disorder, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease (AD), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or asymptomatic carriers of an ALS-related gene, such as a hexanucleotide expansion in the C9ORF72 gene, with evidence of abnormal inflammatory signaling in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) at baseline. Each participant will be treated with baricitinib for 24 weeks; no placebo will be given. Participants will receive baricitinib 2 mg per day by mouth for the first 8 weeks and baricitinib 4 mg per day by mouth for the remaining 16 weeks. This proof of concept trial will ascertain whether baricitinib at 2 mg per day, 4 mg per day, or both reaches therapeutic levels in the CSF and suppresses inflammatory biomarkers associated with type I interferon signaling among the study participants.

Remote Speech and Swallowing Assessment in ALS

The investigators propose a longitudinal home study of ALS patients to measure the severity of speech and swallowing (bulbar) impairment via a smartphone-based, remote speech and swallow assessment (rSSA). The study is designed to assess the feasibility and validity of such a monitoring intervention. Furthermore, it is proposed that regular monitoring of these two bulbar processes may shed light on their co-evolution over the course of ALS.

Digital Assessment of Speech and Fine Motor Control in ALS

This is a single-session, case-control study that incorporates digital tools for assessing speech and motor function in motor neuron disease. Patients with motor neuron disease (including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), and progressive muscular atrophy (PMA)) and age-matched healthy controls will be enrolled. Subjects will complete a speech and handwriting assessment during the study visit on a tablet computer (BioSensics LLC, Newton, MA). We will explore whether these digital biomarkers are sensitive to functional disease severity as reported by the ALS Functional Rating Scale - Revised (ALFRS-R) \[1\]. We will also compare assessment data between the patient and control groups.

Staging System in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Recently two staging systems have been proposed for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), based on clinical milestones The King's college clinical staging system (1) and ALS Milano-Torino Staging (ALS-MITOS) (2). Further research to validate and develop an accurate staging system in different populations will improve our understanding of its pathogenesis, disease activity and progression. General objective : To validate the two previously proposed staging system and to test the interest of considering Neurofilament biomarkers in these systems. Specific objectives: 1) To validate the two classification systems in an independent cohort of patients with ALS followed-up in the ALS expert center of Limoges (France) 2) To assess the interest of Nf biomarkers to predict neurological decline

Neurologic Stem Cell Treatment Study

This is a human clinical study involving the isolation of autologous bone marrow derived stem cells (BMSC) and transfer to the vascular system and inferior 1/3 of the nasal passages in order to determine if such a treatment will provide improvement in neurologic function for patients with certain neurologic conditions. http://mdstemcells.com/nest/

French-German Cohort Study to Determine Factors Associated With Weight Loss in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease. Studies have shown the importance of weight loss at the time of diagnosis and during the progression of the disease. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms behind weight loss remain unknown. Identifying these mechanisms could make it possible to propose an effective therapeutic strategy against weight loss for ALS patients, which could improve their survival and quality of life. In this context, the investigators are proposing an innovative multidisciplinary project aimed at structuring a large Franco-German cohort to identify the markers associated with weight loss in ALS. Participants will undergo high quality standard care for ALS patients. In addition, participants will be asked to respond different questionnaires and blood samples will be taken for analysis to identify biological markers.

Ambulatory Versus Inpatient Initiation of Home Mechanical Ventilation

The purpose of this investigation is to see if outpatient initiation of noninvasive home mechanical ventilation combined with closed telemonitoring and follow-up in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is non-inferior to initiation during admission to the hospital The primary hypothesis is that outpatient intiation of noninvasive home mechanical ventilation combined with closed telemonitoring and follow-up is non-inferior to initiation during hospitalization in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Study is to Assess the Safety and Tolerability of VTx-002 in Participants With ALS

PIONEER-ALS is a Phase 1/2, multicenter, open-label, ascending dose, uncontrolled, first-in-human study that will evaluate the safety, tolerability and effects on clinical and biomarker endpoints of intracisternal administration of Vtx-002 in participants with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Two escalating dose (low dose and high dose) cohorts are planned. The duration of the study will be a maximum of 5 years and 5 weeks (265 weeks) for each participant. The screening period may last up to 5 weeks to complete screening procedures.

HFCWO Vest Plus Mechanical Cough Assist Versus Cough Assist Alone on Respiratory Infections in ALS: a Pilot Trial

This pilot randomised single-blind trial evaluated whether adding high-frequency chest wall oscillation (HFCWO) via chest vest (ComfortCough II) to mechanical cough assist improves respiratory outcomes and reduces respiratory infections and hospital admissions compared to mechanical cough assist alone in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) receiving non-invasive ventilation.

ASSESS ALL ALS Study

The ALL ALS Clinical Research Consortium is establishing research to collect a wide range of samples, clinical information and measurements from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) symptomatic, ALS gene carriers and control cohorts. This consortium is being funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH/NINDS) and managed by two clinical coordinating centers (CCC) at Barrow Neurological Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital. The clinical sites are distributed across the country, and led by a group of collaborative principal investigators. Once data and samples are collected and harmonized, it will be made available to research community for future research into ALS and related neurological diseases. ASSESS protocol is specific for symptomatic ALS and control participants. This protocol includes both on-site and off-site(remote) participants. The participants will be followed for 24 months (2 years), and will include collection of medical history, clinical outcomes, and blood samples once in 4 months. Additionally, the participants will complete patient reported outcomes and speech recordings once a month. Participants who are coming into clinic may also provide optional Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) samples.

PREVENT ALL ALS Study

The ALL ALS Clinical Research Consortium is establishing research to collect a wide range of samples, clinical information and measurements from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) symptomatic, ALS gene carriers and control cohorts. This consortium is begin funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH/NINDS) and managed by two clinical coordinating centers (CCC) at Barrow Neurological Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital. The clinical sites are distributed across the country, and led by a group of collaborative principal investigators. Once data and samples are collected and harmonized, it will be made available to research community for future research into ALS and related neurological diseases. PREVENT protocol is specific for asymptomatic participants who are genetically at risk for ALS. The participants will be followed for up to 36 months (3 years), and will include 4 in-person on-site visits once a year and 6 off-site(remote) visits once in 4 months. The study includes collection of medical history, clinical outcomes, and blood samples once in 4 months. Additionally, the participants will complete patient reported outcomes and speech recordings once in 4 months. Participants may also provide optional Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) samples.The participants may also opt into a sub-study if they are interested in genetic testing for ALS causative genes. The sub-study will involve a minimum of 3 visits over a course of 2-3 months. This will include a screening/pre-test genetic counseling visit, a return of genetic results and a post-test counseling visit.