Clinical Research Directory

Rare Disease Registry Database for Movement Disorders in Southern Anhui Province

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, a rare disease is a disease affecting fewer than 6.5 people per 10,000; in China, it generally refers to diseases with a prevalence of less than 1/10,000 (i.e., with a total of no more than 140,000 patients). Such diseases are mostly hereditary or congenital in origin. Patients with rare diseases often present with complex symptoms, most of which are neurological. Although a large number of rare diseases have been identified, the small number of patients with each disease and the diversity of symptoms make early diagnosis difficult and render large-sample clinical trials challenging. Consequently, most rare diseases lack curative treatments; available therapies are of limited efficacy or prohibitive cost, ultimately leading to severe disability or death and imposing a substantial socioeconomic burden. This study establishes a registry for motor neuron diseases (MND), spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), hereditary muscular dystrophy (HMD), and hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). Owing to the low incidence, complex clinical diagnosis, unclear pathogenic mechanisms, and strong genetic heterogeneity, epidemiological data on rare motor neuron diseases are limited, further increasing the difficulty of biomarker screening and targeted therapeutic development. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish a comprehensive registry and to obtain reliable evidence on risk factors and early diagnosis through research. This study aims to establish a registry of rare neurological diseases in the southern Anhui Province and to build a high-quality biobank of human biological resources.

Serum Neurofilaments in the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a serious neurodegenerative disease, often difficult to diagnose due to symptoms similar to other neurological pathologies. Diagnosis can take up to 14 months, although the rapid progression of the disease requires early detection. At present, there is no validated biomarker to aid diagnosis. Serum neurofilaments light chain (NfL), markers of neuronal degeneration, show great potential to help diagnose ALS early and assess disease severity. Recent research has shown that measurement of NfL in the blood can differentiate ALS from other neurological disorders, and new technologies are increasingly making it possible to perform these tests clinically. The study hypothesis is that NfL blood levels, measured using clinical analyzers, could improve early ALS diagnosis, optimize patient recruitment for therapeutic trials and accelerate the assessment of treatment efficacy. The primary objective is to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of serum NfL for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in newly recruited patients referred to the ALS Reference Center at Montpellier University Hospital. The diagnosis is established according to the revised El Escorial diagnostic criteria (see Appendix). This diagnosis is determined independently of the serum NfL concentration.