Under construction – not a live service
Sign in
Taking people in IrelandNo phase

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.

Key facts

Who runs it
University of Dublin, Trinity College
Where
Dublin, IrelandSee the site
Trial code
Registry title
Impairments of Neuro-muscular Communication in Motor-Neuron Disease: A Bio-Marker for Early and Personalised Diagnosis
Status
Recruiting
People taking part
400 people, planned
Started
1 Oct 2015
Expected to end
30 Sept 2027
Type of study
Observational, 4 groups
Treatments tested
  • 128 electrode electroencephalography (EEG), Bipolar surface electromyography (sEMG), High-density electromyography (HD-EMG)
Record updated
23 December 2022

Who can take part

AI summary

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

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 12 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • 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

Who cannot take part

  • 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:

Where in Ireland

  • Academic Unit of Neurology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of DublinDublin, IrelandContact: Orla Hardiman,, BSc MB BCh BAO MD FRCPI FAANTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

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

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.

The 4 groups in the trial

  • Controls

    Individuals from the Irish population with no psychiatric, psychological, neurological or muscular disease diagnosis.

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

  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients

    Individuals from the Irish population (Irish Motorneuron Disease Register) with possible/probable/definitive diagnosis of ALS.

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

  • Postpoliomyelitis syndrome

    Individuals from the Irish population (Irish Motorneuron Disease Register) with postpoliomyelitis syndrome diagnosis.

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

  • Spinal Muscular Atrophy

    Individuals from the Irish population (Irish Motorneuron Disease Register) with spinal muscular atrophy diagnosis.

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

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
Impairments of Neuro-muscular Communication in Motor-Neuron Disease: A Bio-Marker for Early and Personalised Diagnosis
Plain-language title
Testing brain and muscle signals as an early diagnostic test for motor neuron diseaseGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Record updated
23 December 2022