Muon Do you have any follow up on on the DPS in use today or not.


DPS in ALS: Clinical Trial Under Way at
University Hospitals Case Medical Center
UH physicians involved in the Diaphragm Pacing
Center and the Neuromuscular Center of the
Neurological Institute proposed using the DPS system
in an attempt to maintain respiratory muscle function
in ALS patients. A pilot study conducted between
March 2005 and March 2006 demonstrated the DPS
system can be safely implanted in ALS patients, with
a documented decrease in the decline of respiratory
function leading to increased survival.14
In the pilot study, 16 patients (13 men and 3
women with an average age of 50 years; age range
32-70) received implants and no adverse events were
observed or reported. The mean time between the
onset of symptoms and enrollment in the trial was
45 months. All patients had a 2-month lead-in period
prior to implantation. The median forced vital capacity
(FVC) at implantation was 57%. In all pilot-study
patients, more fluoroscopically observed diaphragm
excursion occurred with diaphragm stimulation than
under maximal voluntary effort. DPS significantly
increased diaphragm muscle thickness when assessed
with ultrasound (P=0.02). After conditioning the
diaphragm with the DPS, preliminary results showed
an average rate of decline in FVC of 1.3% per month
from the pre-implantation decline of 3.1% per
month. This extrapolates to an additional 24 months
of ventilator-free survival