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Looking for signs of damage to nerve-cell connections

Researchers study blood and fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord in multiple sclerosis and comparison neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s.

Learning by observing or collecting information · Study reference: NCT03217396

Plain-language introduction written with AI from the registry; not independently checked by a clinician. Read the original details below ↓

This registry record was last updated over six months ago, or its update date is missing. Recruitment may have changed. Confirm with the team before making plans.

Open the official registry record ↗

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Looking for volunteers

Start (reported actual date)
2017-11-22
Main measurements finished (planned)
2026-09-01
Study finished (planned)
2027-09-30

Planned dates can move. A study finishing does not tell us when a paper will be published.

No results summary has been confirmed in the registry records we imported. See connected papers below; we keep checking after recruitment ends.

Changes we have recorded
  • 2026-10-11 — recruiting

These are dates we observed a change, not necessarily the dates it happened.

Papers connected to this study

Mandolesi G, Rizzo FR, Balletta S, Stampanoni Bassi M, Gilio L, Guadalupi L, Nencini M, Moscatelli A, Ryan CP, Licursi V, Dolcetti E, Musella A, Gentile A, Fresegna D, Bullitta S, Caioli S, Vanni V, Sanna K, Bruno A, Buttari F, Castelli C, Presutti C, De Santa F, Finardi A, Furlan R, Centonze D, De Vito F. The microRNA let-7b-5p Is Negatively Associated with Inflammation and Disease Severity in Multiple Sclerosis. Cells. 2021 Feb 5;10(2):330. doi: 10.3390/cells10020330. ↗
Registry derived research reference

Who can join?

Ages 18 years to 65 years · Does not accept healthy volunteers

These are starting points, not the full rules. The research team can tell you whether the study is right for your situation.

Read all the rules for taking part

Sex eligibility reported by registry: all

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Male and female patients (age between 18 and 65 years) 2. Diagnosis of MS in accordance with McDonald's (2010 rev) criteria, 3. EDSS between 0 and 5.5 (included), 4. Patients able to provide informed consent to participation in the study Exclusion Criteria: 1. Inability to provide informed written consent 2. Altered basal blood count 3. Pregnancy or lactation 4. Contraindications for the execution of magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium 5. Significant clinical conditions in addition to SM or other chronic neurodegenerative diseases including latent viral infections
Full study name & original research details

Official study title

Identification of New Biomarkers Useful to Define the Course of Multiple Sclerosis and Study of the Mechanisms That Promote Synaptic Damage

Short title used by the registry

Biomarkers of Synaptic Damage in Multiple Sclerosis

Original description

A prospective and retrospective cohort study of about five years will be performed on blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples taken for diagnostic reasons from recruited patients within the Neuromed Neurology Unit. Subjects with other chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), and healthy subjects subjected to blood sampling and / or lumbar puncture for clinical reasons will be recruited As control groups.

Further description from the registry

Blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples will be subjected to the procedures required for the isolation of the different components immediately after the withdrawal. Subsequently, the levels of microRNAs, cytokines, chemokines, cell growth factors, neuronal damage markers (tau, phosphorylated and truncated tau, neurofilaments) and mitochondrial (lactate) and free d-amino acids (Objective 1) will be determined. Furthermore, synaptic alterations will be evaluated in the ex vivo chimeric model of MS, using the patch-clamp technique (Objective 2). Genotyping studies will be conducted in order to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in coding and / or regulating regions of genes (microRNAs or proteins) involved in alterations of the synaptic transmission of MS and its murine experimental model (i.e. SLC1A3, NGFB, PDGFA, etc.), which correlate with specific clinical parameters (i.e. EDSS, BREMS, disease progression index, MS type, disease activity, etc.) and with the levels of potential biomarkers identified

Conditions reported: Multiple Sclerosis; Parkinson Disease; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Alzheimer Disease

Registry records for this study

Records are joined using registration identifiers. Titles alone do not establish that two studies are the same.

Study type
Observational
Interventions
lumbar puncture
Phases
Not reported
Sponsor
Neuromed IRCCS
Start date reported by registry
2017-11-22 (actual)

Registry updated: 2022-10-28 · Status last verified by the registry submitter: 2022-10

Registry records retrieved 2026-10-13 (UTC). Individual records may have older updates. Recruitment and eligibility must be confirmed with the study team.

Contact the research team

Public study contacts supplied to the registry. Ask whether recruitment is still open and what participation involves.

Diego Centonze, MD · +39 3934444159 · centonze@uniroma2.it

Mario Stampanoni Bassi, MD · +39 3460181370 · mario_sb@hotmail.it

Study locations

Site status can differ from overall study status. “Status not reported” means local availability needs confirmation. Remote participation and travel arrangements must be checked with the team.

IRCCS Neuromed

Pozzilli, Isernia, Italy

Recruiting

Stefania Passarelli · +39 0865.915217 · direzionescientifica@neuromed.it

Facility not reported

Italy

Status not reported

The original descriptions and participation rules come from the registry. Participation is voluntary and does not guarantee benefit.