Impairments of Neuro-muscular Communication in Motor-Neuron Disease: A Bio-Marker for Early and Personalised Diagnosis

Summary

Motor neuron disease (MND) or ALS is a nervous system disease. ALS leads to a loss of movement ability that eventually leads to death. At the moment, there is no known treatment for ALS. Early diagnosis in individuals improves clinical care and facilitates timely entry into clinical trials. However, current methods for diagnosis are primarily clinical, and to date, no cost-effective biomarkers have been developed. Our objective is to identify a robust non-invasive neurophysiological-based system that can be used both as a biomarker of disease onset, and a measurement of progression using quantitative EEG and surface EMG (bipolar and high-density).

The investigators postulate that analysing the joint recordings of EEG and EMG (bipolar or high-density) can give measures that better distinguish healthy people and ALS patient subgroups and that the findings can be developed as biomarkers of early diagnosis and disease progression.

Conditions

• ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
• Postpoliomyelitis Syndrome
• Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Interventions

PROCEDURE

128 electrode electroencephalography (EEG), Bipolar surface electromyography (sEMG), High-density electromyography (HD-EMG)

128 electrode EEG and 8 bipolar EMG or HD-EMG will be noninvasively recorded from electrodes placed in a montage over the scalp and arm muscles while the participant is resting or performing tasks designed to engage specific cortical networks of interest (cognitive, behavioural, motor and sensory)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Motor Neurone Disease Association, UK

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Irish Research Council, IE

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Research Motor Neuron, IE

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Thierry Latran Foundation, FR

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• ALS Association, USA

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of Dublin, Trinity College

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Orla Hardiman, BSc MB BCh BAO MD FRCPI FAAN · Academic Unit of Neurology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-10-01

Primary Completion

2027-01-30

Completion

2027-09-30

Countries

• Ireland

Study Locations