Clinical Research Directory

Clinical Procedures to Support Research in ALS

The purpose of the Clinical Procedures To Support Research (CAPTURE) study is to utilize information collected in the medical record to learn more about a disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related disorders.

Phenotype, Genotype and Biomarkers 2

The purpose of this study is to learn more about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other related neurodegenerative diseases, including frontotemporal dementia (FTD), primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) and multisystem proteinopathy (MSP). More precisely, the investigator wants to identify the links that exist between the disease phenotype (phenotype refers to observable signs and symptoms) and the disease genotype (genotype refers to your genetic information). The investigator also wants to identify biomarkers of ALS and related diseases.

Effects of Whole-body Electrical Muscle Stimulation Exercise on Adults With Neuromuscular Disease

This single-arm pilot study evaluates the effects of whole-body electrical muscle stimulation (WB-EMS) exercise on neuromuscular and physical function in adults with neuromuscular disease (NMD). Due to motor unit impairments, NMD patients often cannot tolerate traditional exercise. WB-EMS bypasses voluntary activation limits by directly stimulating muscle contractions. Up to 50 adults with conditions like ALS, SMA, and MG will undergo 20-minute supervised WB-EMS sessions (1-2 times weekly for 4-8 weeks) using the Katalyst system. Outcomes include neural excitability (TMS), motor unit behavior (EMG, NCS), functional tests (walk, balance, strength), and patient-reported fatigue, pain, and quality of life. Strict safety monitoring and exclusion criteria are in place. This study will provide preliminary data on WB-EMS as a potential exercise modality for NMD.

TRIAL READY (Clinical Trial Readiness)

This study, being conducted under the auspice of the CReATe Consortium, will enroll patients with ALS and related disorders as well as healthy controls, with the goal of facilitating clinical validation of leading biological-fluid based biomarker candidates that may aid therapy development for patients with ALS and related disorders.

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.

Phenotype, Genotype & Biomarkers in ALS and Related Disorders

The goals of this study are: (1) to better understand the relationship between the phenotype and genotype of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related diseases, including primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD); and (2) to develop biomarkers that might be useful in aiding therapy development for this group of disorders.

Comprehensive Analysis Platform To Understand, Remedy and Eliminate ALS

CAPTURE ALS is a long-term data and biorepository platform that will facilitate future ALS research. CAPTURE ALS will provide the standardized systems and tools necessary to collect, store, and analyze vast amounts of multimodal information about ALS. These multimodal datasets and biosamples will be made available for use by researchers or industry across Canada and around the world in accordance with the CAPTURE ALS Data Sharing Policy to advance research on ALS.