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Background

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND), is a devastating, life-shortening illness which affects about 5000 people in the UK at any one time. As the disease progresses, patients experience weakness of limb muscles, difficulties with chewing and swallowing, and weakness of the main breathing muscles.

Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Clinical Trials Research Unit and Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) staff were awarded a six-year programme grant from the National Institute for Health Research to investigate the nutritional management of people living with ALS. The HighCALS research programme is led by Chris McDermott, Professor of Translational Neurology, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Sheffield, in collaboration with colleagues from ScHARR, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Leeds, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Oxford and King’s College, London.

People with ALS (pwALS) often lose weight due to raised energy requirements and symptoms of the disease making it difficult to eat. Little is currently known regarding how food intake affects ALS and there is a lack of guidance for patients and healthcare professionals on weight and nutrition. 

Underpinning HighCALS is a programme of work designed to understand the current national service models, the beliefs of stakeholders and the development of behaviour change strategies to support and improve nutritional interventions.

OptiCALS randomised controlled trial

We are now in the final phase of the programme, trialling the OptiCALS nutritional intervention to investigate whether the OptiCALS intervention can slow ALS progression, improving physical function and quality of life in people with ALS (pwALS). We believe addressing this potentially simple issue could have a dramatic impact on survival, function, and quality of life for the 6000 people living with ALS in the UK.

The OptiCALS trial is seeking to recruit 259 participants from clinical sites across the UK. If you would like further information, please contact Opticals@sheffield.ac.uk or our trial managers, Elaine Scott and Gemma Hackney.

Central study staff

Collaborators

Current research sites

Sponsor

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust