Infrastructure resources for clinical research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Primary lateral sclerosis natural history study - planning, designing, and early enrollment

Introduction/Aims. Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) is exceedingly rare and has been an enigmatic disease. Recent progress has drastically changed this perception, with early biomarkers being investigated and potential medications for PLS emerging at the preclinical stage. The aim of this paper is to describe a study of PLS natural history and discuss the limitations and proposed solutions to the study of a rare and slowly progressive disease. Methods. The PLS Natural History Study is a 30-site, 24-month, prospective study that is supported by multiple funding sources. The study aims to enroll 50 early PLS (disease duration ≤4 years) and 50 definite PLS (disease duration 4 to 15 years) participants using modified PLS Diagnostic Criteria. Smartphone-based assessments including semi-quantitative and quantitative measures and patient-reported outcomes are utilized. In-person quantitative measures are also completed during site visits. The change in the PLS Functional Rating Scale score is the primary outcome. The study utilizes the NeuroBANK^® patient-centric data capture and management platform. The biostatistical analysis plan has been developed. Results. In one year, 28 participants have been recruited. Enrollment has been much slower than anticipated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rarity of PLS, and potential study competition for internal resources from ALS clinical trials. Discussion. We discuss the need for more innovative methods to enroll and study individuals with such rare diseases and propose a number of mechanisms by which more efficient enrollment could be facilitated.

Reaching a Tipping Point for Neurorehabilitation Research: Obstacles and Opportunities in Trial Design, Description, and Pooled Analysis

The record-breaking pace of COVID-19 vaccine development and implementation depended heavily on collaboration among academic, government, and commercial stakeholders, especially through data-sharing and robust multicenter trials. Collaborative efforts have not been as fruitful in fields such as neurorehabilitation, where non-pharmacological interventions play a much larger role. Barriers to translating scientific advancements into clinical practice in neurorehabilitation include pervasively small study sizes, exacerbated by limited funding for non-pharmacological multicenter clinical trials; difficulty standardizing—and adequately describing—non-pharmacological interventions; and a lack of incentives for individual patient-level data-sharing. These barriers prevent reliable meta-analysis of non-pharmacological clinical studies in neurorehabilitation. This point-of-view will highlight these challenges as well as suggest practical steps that may be taken to improve the neurorehabilitation pipeline between evidence and implementation.

National registry for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review for structuring population registries of motor neuron diseases

BACKGROUND

This article comprises a systematic review of the literature that aims at researching and analyzing the frequently applied guidelines for structuring national databases of epidemiological surveillance for motor neuron diseases, especially Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

METHODS

We searched for articles published from January 2015 to September 2019 on online databases as PubMed - U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine, Scopus, Science Direct, and Springer. Subsequently, we analyzed studies that considered risk factors, demographic data, and other strategic data for directing techno-scientific research, calibrating public health policies, and supporting decision-making by managers through a systemic panorama of ALS.

RESULTS

2850 studies were identified. 2400 were discarded for not satisfying the inclusion criteria, and 435 being duplicated or published in books or conferences. Hence, 15 articles were elected. By applying quality criteria, we then selected six studies to compose this review. Such researches featured registries from the American (3), European (2), and Oceania (1) continent. All the studies specified the methods for data capture and the patients' recruitment process for the registers.

DISCUSSIONS

From the analysis of the selected papers and reported models, it is noticeable that most studies focused on the prospect of obtaining data to characterize research on epidemiological studies. Demographic data (ID01) are present in all the registries, representing the main collected data category. Furthermore, the general health history (ID02) is present in 50% of the registries analyzed. Characteristics such as access control, confidentiality and data curation. We observed that 50% of the registries comprise a patient-focused web-based self-report system.

CONCLUSION

The development of robust, interoperable, and secure electronic registries that generate value for research and patients presents itself as a solution and a challenge. This systematic review demonstrated the success of a population register requires actions with well-defined development methods, as well as the involvement of various actors of civil society.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the innate immune system: protocol for establishing a biobank and statistical analysis plan

INTRODUCTION

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating, progressive disease that causes degeneration of the motor neurons leading to paresis of the bulbar and the skeletal musculature. The pathogenesis of ALS remains unknown. We will test the hypothesis that the complement system is involved in the pathophysiology of ALS. This protocol article describes our efforts to establish a national Danish ALS biobank. The primary aim is to obtain biological material from patients with ALS for the current study as well as for future studies.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We intend to establish an observational ALS biobank; some of the material from this biobank will be used for a prospective, observational case-control study. The participants are patients with ALS, neurologically healthy controls and non-ALS neurological controls. Each participant consents to be interviewed and to donate blood and cerebrospinal fluid to the biobank. Analysis of the complement system will be carried out on the three groups of patients and compared.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The project has been approved by the Committees on Health Research Ethics in the Capital Region of Denmark (Approval number H-16017145) and the Danish Data Protection Agency (file number 2012-58-0004). All results will be published in peer-reviewed, medical journals and presented at scientific conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT02869048.

Tracking a Fast-Moving Disease: Longitudinal Markers, Monitoring, and Clinical Trial Endpoints in ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) encompasses a heterogeneous group of phenotypes with different progression rates, varying degree of extra-motor involvement and divergent progression patterns. The natural history of ALS is increasingly evaluated by large, multi-time point longitudinal studies, many of which now incorporate presymptomatic and post-mortem assessments. These studies not only have the potential to characterize patterns of anatomical propagation, molecular mechanisms of disease spread, but also to identify pragmatic monitoring markers. Sensitive markers of progressive neurodegenerative change are indispensable for clinical trials and individualized patient care. Biofluid markers, neuroimaging indices, electrophysiological markers, rating scales, questionnaires, and other disease-specific instruments have divergent sensitivity profiles. The discussion of candidate monitoring markers in ALS has a dual academic and clinical relevance, and is particularly timely given the increasing number of pharmacological trials. The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive and critical review of longitudinal studies in ALS, focusing on the sensitivity profile of established and emerging monitoring markers.

Common data elements for spinal cord injury clinical research: a National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke project

OBJECTIVES

To develop a comprehensive set of common data elements (CDEs), data definitions, case report forms and guidelines for use in spinal cord injury (SCI) clinical research, as part of the CDE project at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the US National Institutes of Health.

SETTING

International Working Groups.

METHODS

Nine working groups composed of international experts reviewed existing CDEs and instruments, created new elements when needed and provided recommendations for SCI clinical research. The project was carried out in collaboration with and cross-referenced to development of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) International SCI Data Sets. The recommendations were compiled, subjected to internal review and posted online for external public comment. The final version was reviewed by all working groups and the NINDS CDE team before release.

RESULTS

The NINDS SCI CDEs and supporting documents are publically available on the NINDS CDE website and the ISCoS website. The CDEs span the continuum of SCI care and the full range of domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

CONCLUSION

Widespread use of CDEs can facilitate SCI clinical research and trial design, data sharing and retrospective analyses. Continued international collaboration will enable consistent data collection and reporting, and will help ensure that the data elements are updated, reviewed and broadcast as additional evidence is obtained.

Being PRO-ACTive: What can a Clinical Trial Database Reveal About ALS?

Advancing research and clinical care, and conducting successful and cost-effective clinical trials requires characterizing a given patient population. To gather a sufficiently large cohort of patients in rare diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we developed the Pooled Resource Open-Access ALS Clinical Trials (PRO-ACT) platform. The PRO-ACT database currently consists of >8600 ALS patient records from 17 completed clinical trials, and more trials are being incorporated. The database was launched in an open-access mode in December 2012; since then, >400 researchers from >40 countries have requested the data. This review gives an overview on the research enabled by this resource, through several examples of research already carried out with the goal of improving patient care and understanding the disease. These examples include predicting ALS progression, the simulation of future ALS clinical trials, the verification of previously proposed predictive features, the discovery of novel predictors of ALS progression and survival, the newly identified stratification of patients based on their disease progression profiles, and the development of tools for better clinical trial recruitment and monitoring. Results from these approaches clearly demonstrate the value of large datasets for developing a better understanding of ALS natural history, prognostic factors, patient stratification, and more. The increasing use by the community suggests that further analyses of the PRO-ACT database will continue to reveal more information about this disease that has for so long defied our understanding.

Comprehensive rehabilitative care across the spectrum of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

BACKGROUND

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) is a neurodegenerative disease that results in progressive muscle weakness and wasting. There is no known cure and the disease is uniformly fatal.

PURPOSE

This review discusses current concepts in ALS care, from breaking the diagnosis to end-of-life care. People with ALS have several multidisciplinary needs due to a complex and dynamic disease process. They benefit from rehabilitation interventions that are individualized and have the goal of optimizing independence, function, and safety. These strategies also help minimize symptomatic burden and maximize quality of life.

CONCLUSION

Patient-centered, multidisciplinary care has a significant impact on the life of people with ALS and is the current standard of care for this patient population.

The PRO-ACT database: design, initial analyses, and predictive features

OBJECTIVE

To pool data from completed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) clinical trials and create an open-access resource that enables greater understanding of the phenotype and biology of ALS.

METHODS

Clinical trials data were pooled from 16 completed phase II/III ALS clinical trials and one observational study. Over 8 million de-identified longitudinally collected data points from over 8,600 individuals with ALS were standardized across trials and merged to create the Pooled Resource Open-Access ALS Clinical Trials (PRO-ACT) database. This database includes demographics, family histories, and longitudinal clinical and laboratory data. Mixed effects models were used to describe the rate of disease progression measured by the Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) and vital capacity (VC). Cox regression models were used to describe survival data. Implementing Bonferroni correction, the critical p value for 15 different tests was p = 0.003.

RESULTS

The ALSFRS-R rate of decline was 1.02 (±2.3) points per month and the VC rate of decline was 2.24% of predicted (±6.9) per month. Higher levels of uric acid at trial entry were predictive of a slower drop in ALSFRS-R (p = 0.01) and VC (p < 0.0001), and longer survival (p = 0.02). Higher levels of creatinine at baseline were predictive of a slower drop in ALSFRS-R (p = 0.01) and VC (p < 0.0001), and longer survival (p = 0.01). Finally, higher body mass index (BMI) at baseline was associated with longer survival (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

The PRO-ACT database is the largest publicly available repository of merged ALS clinical trials data. We report that baseline levels of creatinine and uric acid, as well as baseline BMI, are strong predictors of disease progression and survival.

A post hoc analysis of subgroup outcomes and creatinine in the phase III clinical trial (EMPOWER) of dexpramipexole in ALS

Our objective was to compare the phase II and phase III (EMPOWER) studies of dexpramipexole in ALS and evaluate potential EMPOWER responder subgroups and biomarkers based on significant inter-study population differences. In a post hoc analysis, we compared the baseline population characteristics of both dexpramipexole studies and analyzed EMPOWER efficacy outcomes and laboratory measures in subgroups defined by significant inter-study differences. Results showed that, compared with phase II, the proportion of El Escorial criteria (EEC) definite participants decreased (p = 0.005), riluzole use increased (p = 0.002), and mean symptom duration increased (p = 0.037) significantly in EMPOWER. Baseline creatinine (p < 0.001) and on-study creatinine change (p < 0.001) correlated significantly with ALSFRS-R in EMPOWER. In the EMPOWER subgroup defined by EEC-definite ALS, riluzole use, and < median symptom duration (15.3 months), dexpramipexole-treated participants had reduced ALSFRS-R slope decline (p = 0.015), decreased mortality (p = 0.011), and reduced creatinine loss (p = 0.003). In conclusion, significant differences existed between the phase II and EMPOWER study populations in ALS clinical trials of dexpramipexole. In a post hoc analysis of EMPOWER subgroups defined by these differences, potential clinical benefits of dexpramipexole were identified in the subgroup of riluzole-treated, short-symptom duration, EEC-definite ALS participants. Creatinine loss correlated with disease progression and was reduced in dexpramipexole-treated participants, suggesting it as a candidate biomarker.

ALS Multicenter Cohort Study of Oxidative Stress (ALS COSMOS): study methodology, recruitment, and baseline demographic and disease characteristics

Abstract In a multicenter study of newly diagnosed ALS patients without a reported family history of ALS, we are prospectively investigating whether markers of oxidative stress (OS) are associated with disease progression. Methods utilize an extensive structured telephone interview ascertaining environmental, lifestyle, dietary and psychological risk factors associated with OS. Detailed assessments were performed at baseline and at 3-6 month intervals during the ensuing 30 months. Our biorepository includes DNA, plasma, urine, and skin. Three hundred and fifty-five patients were recruited. Subjects were enrolled over a 36-month period at 16 sites. To meet the target number of subjects, the recruitment period was prolonged and additional sites were included. Results showed that demographic and disease characteristics were similar between 477 eligible/non-enrolled and enrolled patients, the only difference being type of health insurance among enrolled patients. Sites were divided into three groups by the number of enrolled subjects. Comparing these three groups, the Columbia site had fewer 'definite ALS' diagnoses. This is the first prospective, interdisciplinary, in-depth, multicenter epidemiological investigation of OS related to ALS progression and has been accomplished by an aggressive recruitment process. The baseline demographic and disease features of the study sample are now fully characterized.

Outcome measures in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis clinical trials

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with an average survival of 3-5 years. While therapies for ALS remain limited, basic and translational ALS research has been host to numerous influential discoveries in recent years. These discoveries have led to a large pipeline of potential therapies that await testing in clinical trials. Until recently, ALS clinical trials have relied on a limited cadre of 'traditional' outcome measures, including survival and measures of function. These measures have proven useful, although imperfect, in Phase III ALS trials. However, their utility in early-phase ALS trials is limited. For these early trials, outcome measures focused on target engagement or biological pathway analysis might improve trial outcomes and better support the drug development process.

Multiple kernel learning captures a systems-level functional connectivity biomarker signature in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

There is significant clinical and prognostic heterogeneity in the neurodegenerative disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), despite a common immunohistological signature. Consistent extra-motor as well as motor cerebral, spinal anterior horn and distal neuromuscular junction pathology supports the notion of ALS a system failure. Establishing a disease biomarker is a priority but a simplistic, coordinate-based approach to brain dysfunction using MRI is not tenable. Resting-state functional MRI reflects the organization of brain networks at the systems-level, and so changes in of motor functional connectivity were explored to determine their potential as the substrate for a biomarker signature. Intra- as well as inter-motor functional networks in the 0.03-0.06 Hz frequency band were derived from 40 patients and 30 healthy controls of similar age, and used as features for pattern detection, employing multiple kernel learning. This approach enabled an accurate classification of a group of patients that included a range of clinical sub-types. An average of 13 regions-of-interest were needed to reach peak discrimination. Subsequent analysis revealed that the alterations in motor functional connectivity were widespread, including regions not obviously clinically affected such as the cerebellum and basal ganglia. Complex network analysis showed that functional networks in ALS differ markedly in their topology, reflecting the underlying altered functional connectivity pattern seen in patients: 1) reduced connectivity of both the cortical and sub-cortical motor areas with non motor areas 2)reduced subcortical-cortical motor connectivity and 3) increased connectivity observed within sub-cortical motor networks. This type of analysis has potential to non-invasively define a biomarker signature at the systems-level. As the understanding of neurodegenerative disorders moves towards studying pre-symptomatic changes, there is potential for this type of approach to generate biomarkers for the testing of neuroprotective strategies.