Recruiting

ALSFUS003Intravenous Immunoglobulin with Focused Ultrasound for ALS

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What is being tested

Next Generation Dome Helmet Focused Ultrasound

+ Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), 10% solution for infusion

+ Definity® Vial for (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) Injectable Suspension

DeviceDrug
Who is being recruted

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis+8

+ Central Nervous System Diseases

+ Metabolic Diseases

Over 18 Years
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Treatment Study

Phase 1
Interventional
Study Start: April 2025
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorSunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Study ContactNir Lipsman, MD, PhD, FRCPCMore contacts
Last updated: December 11, 2025
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Study start date: April 15, 2025

Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

This study aims to explore a new approach to treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by enhancing the delivery of a medication called intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) directly to the brain's motor cortex. ALS is a serious disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to loss of muscle control. The study focuses on six patients with ALS to see if this method is safe and feasible. By potentially improving the delivery of IVIg, the study hopes to find a more effective way to manage ALS symptoms and slow the disease's progression. Participants in the study will receive IVIg in two different doses. The first group of three patients will receive a lower dose, while the second group of three will receive a higher dose. The treatment involves a specialized procedure where, during the second dose, the blood-brain barrier is temporarily opened using focused ultrasound through a helmet-like device, allowing the IVIg to reach the motor cortex more effectively. This procedure takes place two weeks after the first dose and uses a combination of ultrasound and a special solution called microbubbles. The study will monitor the participants for safety and how well the treatment is working over 24 weeks through regular follow-up visits.

Official TitleTargeting Neuroinflammation With Enhanced Delivery of Intravenous Immunoglobulin to the Motor Cortex Using Next Generation Dome Helmet Focused Ultrasound in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Phase I, Open Label Trial 
Principal SponsorSunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Study ContactNir Lipsman, MD, PhD, FRCPCMore contacts
Last updated: December 11, 2025
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details

6 patients to be enrolled

Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

Treatment Study

These studies test new ways to treat a disease, condition, or health issue. The goal is to see if a new drug, therapy, or approach works better or has fewer side effects than existing options.



Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria

Any sex

Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.

Over 18 Years

Range of ages for which participants are eligible to join.

Healthy volunteers not allowed

If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.

Conditions

Pathology

Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisCentral Nervous System DiseasesMetabolic DiseasesNervous System DiseasesNeuromuscular DiseasesNutritional and Metabolic DiseasesSpinal Cord DiseasesMotor Neuron DiseaseNeurodegenerative DiseasesProteostasis DeficienciesTDP-43 Proteinopathies

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Diagnosed with ALS as per the Gold Coast Criteria; 2. Aged 18 years or older; 3. Capable of providing informed consent and complying with study procedures; 4. If taking Riluzole, on a stable dose for at least 4 weeks prior to Baseline; 5. If taking Edaravone, on a stable dose of one completed cycle prior to Baseline; 6. Respiratory Function Criterion: * Able to lie supine without BiPAP or breathing discomfort; OR * Forced vital capacity or slow vital capacity ≥50% of the predicted value for sex, height and age, if available 7. Able to communicate sensations during the Dome FUS procedure. 8. Qualified fit for the anesthesia by an anesthesiologist, ASA I-III. Exclusion Criteria: 1. MRI findings: 1. Active infection/inflammation 2. Acute or chronic hemorrhages, specifically \> 4 lobar microbleeds, and no siderosis or macrohemorrhages 3. Tumor/space occupying lesion causing significant mass effect 4. Meningeal enhancement 5. Intracranial hypotension 2. More than 30% of the skull area traversed by the sonication pathway is covered by scars, scalp disorders (e.g., eczema), or atrophy of the scalp 3. Clips or other metallic implanted objects in the skull or the brain, except shunts 4. Significant cardiac disease or unstable hemodynamic status including: 1. Documented myocardial infarction within six months of screening 2. Unstable angina on medication 3. Unstable or worsening congestive heart failure 4. Left ventricular ejection fraction below the lower limit of normal 5. History of a hemodynamically unstable cardiac arrhythmia 6. Cardiac pacemaker 7. Severe hypertension (diastolic BP \> 100 on medication) 8. Patient has right-to-left, bidirectional, or transient right-to-left cardiac shunts 9. QT prolongation observed on screening ECG (QTc \> 450 for men and \> 470 for women) 5. Uncontrolled hypertension (systolic \> 150 and diastolic BP \> 100 on medication) 6. Patients should not take medications known to increase risk of hemorrhage (e.g., aspirin or class I and III anticoagulants) for at least 7 days prior to treatment or lumbar puncture; patients should not take Avastin for 30 days prior to treatment 7. History of a bleeding disorder, coagulopathy or a history of spontaneous hemorrhage or use of anticoagulants, specifically recent thrombosis or stroke in past 3 months; abnormal coagulation profile (PLT \< 100,00/μl), PT (\> 14 sec) or PTT (\> 36 sec), and INR \> 1.3 8. No more than 1 non-strategic lacune \&lt;1.5 cm 9. Known cerebral or systemic vasculopathy 10. Significant depression and at potential risk of suicide 11. Known sensitivity/allergy to gadolinium (an alternative product may be used) and DEFINITY®. 12. Any contraindications to MRI scanning, including: 1. Large participants not fitting comfortably into the scanner 2. Difficulty lying supine and still for up to 3 hours in the MRI unit or claustrophobia 13. Any contraindication to lumbar puncture for collection of cerebral spinal fluid, including: a. Intracranial hypotension 14. Untreated, uncontrolled sleep apnea 15. Impaired renal function with estimated glomerular filtration rate \< 30 mL/min/1.73m2 or on dialysis. 16. IVIg use in the previous 6 months. 17. Live viral vaccination within the 30 days before study entry 18. Currently, or in the last 3 months participated in a clinical trial delivering an investigational product or non-approved use of a drug or device or in any other type of medical research. 19. Respiratory: chronic pulmonary disorders e.g. severe emphysema, pulmonary vasculitis, or other causes of reduced pulmonary vascular cross-sectional area, patients with a history of drug allergies, uncontrolled asthma or hay fever, and multiple allergies where the benefit/risk of administering DEFINITY® is considered unfavorable by the study physicians in relation to the product monograph for DEFINITY®. 20. Motor cortex atrophy deemed severe enough to limit targeting 21. Previous major allergic or anaphylactic reaction to IVIg 22. Known IgA deficiency with anti-IgA. 23. Known frontotemporal dementia; 24. Definitely or possibly pregnant (if applicable); 25. Known auto-immune condition with or without neurological manifestations (e.g., multiple sclerosis (MS), systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), Rheumatoid arthritis). 26. Current, planned or previous use of oral, intramuscular or intravenous steroid drugs (such as prednisone, prednisolone, dexamethasone, triamcinolone, methylprednisolone, oxandrolone, and others), immunosuppressant drugs (azathioprine, mycophenolate, tacrolimus, sirolimus, cyclophosphamide, and others) or NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib, and others) in the past 30 days; 27. Other unspecified reasons that, in the opinion of the Investigator or the Sponsor, make the participant unsuitable for enrollment

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives

One single intervention group is designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups

Group I

Experimental
ALS patients will be assigned to receive Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) and DEFINITY® microbubbles. The first three enrolled patients will participate in the first cohort, receiving 0.4g/kg divided in two doses. After a preliminary safety assessment of the first cohort, the next three successfully screened patients will be enrolled in the second cohort, receiving 0.8g/kg divided in two doses. The second IVIg dose in each cohort will be administered in combination with Next Generation Dome Helmet (NGDH) focused ultrasound (FUS) to transiently open the blood-brain barrier and enhance IVIg delivery to the primary motor cortex.

Study Objectives

Primary Objectives

Secondary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.

This study has 1 location

Recruiting

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Toronto, CanadaSee the location
Recruiting
One Study Center