The tertiary ALS Centre is located at the University Hospital “Maggiore della Carità” in Novara and represents a national and international reference Centre for the diagnosis, treatment and clinical research of motor neuron diseases. It offers a multi- and interdisciplinary approach including all the facilities for diagnosis, treatment and care. Each year more than 400 patients (200 new patients) coming from all Italian regions and some neighboring European countries are visited in the Centre for diagnosis and treatment.
All patients are cared by a multidisciplinary team that is made up of different disciplines (doctors, nurses, therapists, psychologist) working in a co-ordinated and organised manner. The Centre also provides consultancy and support to doctors of the NHS, educational activities for health workers and volunteers, information to patients and associations about the disease and treatment.
The Center participates in the definition of clinical protocols for the diagnosis and management with other national and international organizations.
The Centre has the structure, the expertise, the facilities, and the qualified personnel needed to conduct all clinical trials. The scientific interest is in translational research for ALS. The Centre has actively taken part in the foundation and updating of the first Italian population-based register in Piedmont. Another topic of the scientific activity is the research of new genes responsible for the familial or sporadic form of MND and FTD. A DNA bank has been implemented and stored the DNA samples from a cohort of 1000 ALS patients fully characterized clinically and for mutations in associated genes. The centre cooperates as coordinator or Participating Centre in many national and international multicenter therapeutic trials in ALS.
| Novara ALS Centre – University Hospital Maggiore della Carità | |
|---|---|
| Foundation year | 2004 |
| Director | Letizia Mazzini |
| Principal investigator | Letizia Mazzini, Fabiola De Marchi |
| Contact information | |
|---|---|
| Address | Corso Mazzini 18 |
| Contact | Letizia Mazzini / Fabiola De Marchi |
| Phone | 0039 0321 3733962 |
| ambulatorioslanovara@tiscali.it | |
| Website | Visit the website |
Publications
- Results from Phase I Clinical Trial with Intraspinal Injection of Neural Stem Cells in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Long-Term Outcome. Mazzini L, Gelati M, Profico Dcet al.; ALS-NSCs Trial Study Group.Stem Cells Transl Med. 2019 Sep;8(9):887-897. doi: 10.1002/sctm.18-0154.
- The multistep hypothesis of ALS revisited: The role of genetic mutations. Chiò A, Mazzini L, D’Alfonso S et al. Neurology. 2018 Aug 14;91(7):e635-e642. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000005996.
- Secular Trends of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: The Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta Register. Chiò A, Mora G, Moglia C, Manera U, Canosa A, Cammarosano S, Ilardi A, Bertuzzo D, Bersano E, Cugnasco P, Grassano M, Pisano F, Mazzini L, Calvo A; Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta Register for ALS (PARALS). JAMA Neurol. 2017 Sep 1;74(9):1097-1104. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.1387
- Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and enteral nutrition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Mazzini L, Corrà T, Zaccala M et al. J Neurol. 1995 Oct;242(10):695-8.
- Mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A Phase I clinical trial. Mazzini L, Ferrero I, Luparello V et al. Exp Neurol. 2010 May;223(1):229-37. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2009.08.007.
Restricted information
| Serving population | |
|---|---|
| Serving population | Italian patients |
| Patient resources | |
|---|---|
| Population based register | Yes |
| Clinic based register | Yes |
| Geographically matched controls | Yes |
| Number of skin samples | 10 |
| Number of IPS cell samples | 5 |
Banks
| Type | ALS Patients | Controls | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| DNA Bank | 1000 | 1000 | |
| Serum Bank | 1000 | 1000 | |
| RNA Bank | 0 | 0 |
| Research activities | |
|---|---|
| Clinical management research | Yes |
| Neuro epidemiology | Yes |
| Neuro physiology | Yes |
| Neuro imaging | Yes |
| Neuro psychology | Yes |
| Neuro pathology | Yes |
| Genomics | Yes |
| Transcriptomics | Yes |
| Metabolomics | Yes |
Clinical Trials - Industry sponsored
| Name | Type | Patients |
|---|---|---|
| REFALS | Phase III | 9 |
Clinical Trials - Investigator initiated
| Name | Type | Patients |
|---|---|---|
| RNS60 (Coordinator Centre) | Phase II | 20 |
| RAPALS | Phase II | 10 |