Could extra calories slow ALS? new trial tests feeding tube nutrition
NCT ID NCT06877143
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether giving ALS patients 20% more calories than their body needs (via a feeding tube) can slow the disease. Researchers will measure a nerve damage marker in the blood over 6 months. 76 adults with ALS who already use a feeding tube will be randomly assigned to get either their exact calorie needs or 20% extra.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- hypercaloric PEG nutrition (120% of calorie needs)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple dietary strategy to slow ALS progression and improve survival.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase trial (76 people) and the benefit is uncertain. The intervention is only for patients already using a feeding tube, so results may not apply to all ALS patients.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 76 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2025
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Possible, probable (clinically or laboratory) or definite ALS according to the revised version of the El Escorial World Federation of Neurology criteria 1 * Loss of ALS functional rating scale revised (ALSFRS-R) of ≥ 0.33 points per month since onset (first paresis) based on the formula: (48 - Score at Screening Visit) / (Months between Onset and Screening Visit) * Nutrition via PEG * Age ≥18 years * Intake of a stable dose of riluzole for at least 4 weeks, or no riluzole * Capable of thoroughly understanding all information given and giving full informed consent according to GCP Exclusion Criteria: * Previous participation in another interventional study within the preceding 4 weeks * Absence of adequate social support and cooperation, or personal motivation (in the judgment of the investigator) to complete the study satisfactorily * Pregnancy or breast-feeding females * Evidence of a major psychiatric disorder or clinically evident dementia
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Ulm Universita, Department of Neurology
RECRUITINGUlm, Baden-Wurttemberg, 89081, Germany
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