Quantitative Neuromuscular Ultrasonography in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) (ALS)

July 23, 2015 updated by: Jacinto Martínez-Payá, Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia

Ultrasound Markers for the Diagnosis, Disease Progression and Prognosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurological disease. Nonspecific symptoms lead to a delay in the diagnosis, only confirmed by the electrophysiologic study.

Objectives.

  1. To establish the diagnostic value of ultrasonography in ALS.
  2. To evaluate the rate of muscle and nerve degeneration by ultrasonography in patients with ALS.
  3. To check the relationship between ultrasound, clinical variables and functional tests in patients with ALS.

Methods. A longitudinal observational study in a consecutive sample of patients diagnosed with ALS will be realized. All the patients will be examined 3 times during 6 months and capabilities associated with ALS and muscle strength will be assessed. Bilateral and cross sectional ultrasonography of several muscles and also median and tibial nerves will be performed. All the images will be processed and analyzed for obtaining morphometric variables (muscle thickness and nerve area) and textural ones (echogenic variation, entropy, homogeneity, textural contrast and correlation). Frequency of twitches will be also recorded. After longitudinal study, a survival study will be performed in relation to functional and sonographic variables.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

60

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Spain
    • Murcia
      • Guadalupe, Murcia, Spain, 30107
        • Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Definite ALS.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS)
  • Other forms of motor neuron disorders.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Measuring muscle thickness.
Time Frame: 6 months
This measurement is carried out in the biceps brachialis, forearm flexors, quadriceps and tibialis anterior, which will be compared between patient with ALS and control group.
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Measurement muscle strength.
Time Frame: 6 months
Graded on the medical research council scale
6 months
Measurement ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-r) scale.
Time Frame: 6 months
Recorded as the global score
6 months
Measurement muscle fasciculations.
Time Frame: 6 months
Each muscle will be screened during 10 s.
6 months
Measuring muscle echointensity.
Time Frame: 6 months
It will be measured using the Image J (v.1.48) software in the biceps brachialis, forearm flexors, quadriceps and tibialis anterior, which will be compared between patient with ALS and control group.
6 months
Measuring nerve area.
Time Frame: 6 months
This measurement is carried out in the median and tibialis posterior nerves, which will be compared between patient with ALS and control group.
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: María E del Baño-Aledo, PhD, Human Anatomy Department. Universidad Católica San Antonio, Campus de los Jerónimos 138. 30107 Guadalupe, Murcia, Spain

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 20, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 23, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

July 24, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 24, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 23, 2015

Last Verified

July 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PMAFI10/14

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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