Serum Auto-Antibodies in Neurological Diseases

Study Purpose

Under normal conditions our immune system protects us against infections and tumors. The immune system does this by recognizing that the infecting organism or the tumor is foreign to the body and attacking it. One way the immune system attacks a foreign target is by making proteins called antibodies that bind to the target. Sometimes, for reasons we poorly understand, the immune system wrongly identifies part of our own body as being foreign and attacks it. This can result in disease such as some forms of diabetes and thyroid disease, as well as some neurological diseases. In this study, one tablespoon of blood will be removed from each subject and tested to see if the immune system is making antibodies against components of the nerves and muscles. We also hope to learn if these antibodies contribute to the development or worsening of illnesses of the nervous system. Only one blood draw is required, but subjects may be asked to give up to 8 additional blood samples to see if the level of antibodies changes over time. Any additional blood draws would be performed at regularly scheduled clinic visits. There would be at least 3 months between blood draws over a period of up to 3 years, if requested by the physician. Depending on your diagnosis, the physician may also request the collection of mouth (buccal) cells. This takes about one minute and is painless. The cells are collected by swishing a swab around your mouth. This cheek swab would be done with each blood draw. Please note that this study is conducted ONLY at UC Davis and that all participants must be seen in our clinic located in Sacramento, CA. Results of the testing performed in this study are not given to the participants. This study is not intended to treat or diagnose any condition.

Recruitment Criteria

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Healthy volunteers are participants who do not have a disease or condition, or related conditions or symptoms

No
Study Type

An interventional clinical study is where participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes.


An observational clinical study is where participants identified as belonging to study groups are assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.


Searching Both is inclusive of interventional and observational studies.

Observational
Eligible Ages 18 Years and Over
Gender All
More Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • - 18 years or older.
  • - Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, or other autoimmune or inflammatory neurological disease.

Exclusion Criteria:

- inability to give informed consent

Trial Details

Trial ID:

This trial id was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, providing information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants with locations in all 50 States and in 196 countries.

NCT00704626
Phase

Phase 1: Studies that emphasize safety and how the drug is metabolized and excreted in humans.

Phase 2: Studies that gather preliminary data on effectiveness (whether the drug works in people who have a certain disease or condition) and additional safety data.

Phase 3: Studies that gather more information about safety and effectiveness by studying different populations and different dosages and by using the drug in combination with other drugs.

Phase 4: Studies occurring after FDA has approved a drug for marketing, efficacy, or optimal use.

Lead Sponsor

The sponsor is the organization or person who oversees the clinical study and is responsible for analyzing the study data.

University of California, Davis
Principal Investigator

The person who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the entire clinical study.

David Richman, MD
Principal Investigator Affiliation University of California, Davis
Agency Class

Category of organization(s) involved as sponsor (and collaborator) supporting the trial.

Other
Overall Status Enrolling by invitation
Countries United States
Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied.

Multiple Sclerosis, Myasthenia Gravis, Transverse Myelitis
Study Website: View Trial Website
Additional Details

The purposes of the study are to determine the frequency of auto-antibodies to 1) heat shock proteins and 2) to other molecules including cytoskeletal proteins such as rapsyn in diseases of the nervous system. 5cc of serum will be obtained from patients with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases of the nervous system including myasthenia gravis and transverse myelitis and from patients with other neurological diseases. Standard methodology to assure safe handling of serum will be used. Diluted serum will be tested for specific reactivity with heat shock proteins (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO) as well as with other antigens in a standard ELISA as well as immunoblot. Buccal swab will also be obtained in conjunction with each blood draw. Rapsyn and other cytoskeletal proteins will be extracted from Torpedo californica electric organ by means of differential centrifugation followed by alkali extraction. For the ELISA, a standard titration curve will be obtained for a positive control serum as previously determined. Negative control sera will be obtained from individuals with other degenerative neurological diseases. Titers of test serum will be determined as the dilution that generates a positive result that is two standard deviations from the mean of the background. Positive ELISA results will be confirmed by immunoblot. Patients may be tested at one time point only. If the serum is positive for specific antibody binding, additional serum samples may be obtained and retested up to 8 more times approximately 3 months apart. Correlation with severity of clinical findings and specific antibody titer will be made. Severity of clinical findings will be determined by the neurological exam done by the investigator.

Arms & Interventions

Arms

: Cohort 1

Subjects with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune and inflammatory disease of the nervous system

Interventions

Other: - Blood Draw

A 5cc sample of serum will be drawn from each subject. Only one blood draw is required, but up to 8 additional blood draws can be obtained.

Other: - Cheek swab

A swab will be swished around the inside of the mouth to collect mouth (buccal) cells. This will be done with each blood draw.

Contact a Trial Team

If you are interested in learning more about this trial, find the trial site nearest to your location and contact the site coordinator via email or phone. We also strongly recommend that you consult with your healthcare provider about the trials that may interest you and refer to our terms of service below.

University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California

Status

Address

University of California, Davis

Sacramento, California, 95817

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