Testing brain and muscle signals as an early diagnostic test for motor neuron disease
Studies brain and muscle electrical signals in adults with motor neuron disease.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Impairments of Neuro-muscular Communication in Motor-Neuron Disease: A Bio-Marker for Early and Personalised Diagnosis
Key facts
- Where
- Dublin, IrelandSee the site
AI summary: who the study is looking for
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with motor neuron diseases such as ALS, and for healthy volunteers of the same age and sex as the patients.
- Age
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All sexes
- Disease stage
- Patients with a diagnosis of ALS, PLS, PMA, SMA, Polio or MS.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Active psychiatric disease
- A medical condition linked to severe nerve damage, for example poorly controlled diabetes
- Allergy or reaction to the recording equipment or recording gels
- Healthy volunteers: history of neuromuscular or neurological disease
Read by machine on 9 November 2026.
Where in Ireland
- Academic Unit of Neurology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of DublinDublin, IrelandTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- University of Dublin, Trinity College
- Trial code
- NCT05663008
- Record updated
- 23 December 2022
- Original description
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).Read full original descriptionShow less
Impairments of Neuro-muscular Communication in Motor-Neuron Disease: A Bio-Marker for Early and Personalised Diagnosis
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.
Inclusion: Healthy Volunteers:; age and gender-matched to patient groups; the intact physical ability to take part in the experiment; Patients:; Diagnosis of ALS, PLS, PMA, SMA, Polio or MS; capable of providing informed consent.
Exclusion: History of neuromuscular; neurological or active psychiatric disease disease; history of reaction or allergy to recording environments, equipment and the recording gels; Patients:; the presence of active psychiatric disease; any medical condition associated with severe neuropathy (e.g. poorly controlled diabetes); History of reaction or allergy to recording environments, equipment and the recording gels; Healthy Controls:.