Virtual reality tested to ease breathlessness in ALS
NCT ID NCT06021938
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether immersive virtual reality (IVR) can reduce persistent shortness of breath in people with ALS who already use a breathing machine (non-invasive ventilation). 35 participants will try both a VR session based on medical hypnosis and a music therapy session. The goal is to see if these techniques can improve comfort and reduce breathing discomfort.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Immersive virtual reality (IVR) and music therapy
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a drug-free way to help ALS patients feel less breathless between ventilation sessions.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-stage study with only 35 participants. The effect may be small or not last, and 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 35 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2024
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2027
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: * ≥ 18 years old * Diagnosis of ALS confirmed according to the revised criteria of El Escorial * Respiratory failure due to diaphragmatic dysfunction treated by non-invasive ventilation for more than a month * Care provided in an ambulatory setting (day care hospital) * Persistent dyspnea at rest ≥ 3 across a numerical scale (0 to 10) in a semi-sitting position * Stable clinical condition, i.e., no episode of acute cardiac, respiratory and/or neurological failure leading to hospitalization in the previous 4 weeks * Free, prior and informed written consent about the study has been obtained * Benefiting a social security (French health insurance system) Exclusion Criteria: * Neurological disorders according to a neurological evaluation dating from less than one year, in particular diagnosed dementia (frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease, etc.), brain pathology (tumor, stroke, Parkinson's disease, etc.) * Diagnosed psychiatric illness (severe depression, psychosis) or receiving antipsychotic treatment * Acrophobia * Claustrophobia * Photophobia * Hearing loss * Visual impairment * Subject under guardianship or curatorship
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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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Service de Pneumologie
RECRUITINGParis, France, 75013, France
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