More understanding is needed of women’s health issues and how it affects the quality of life in patients with Parkinson's. Understanding how this disease impacts women in the less discussed areas including sexual dysfunction, menstrual cycle, menopause, pregnancy and hormonal medications such as contraceptives, nutrition, technology, personal relationships/support networks, can help us understand where future research should focus, and possible treatments should be directed.

We are conducting a research study to understand the connection between bacteria growing in the gastrointestinal tract (the microbiome) and neurological diseases. In this study, we are collecting saliva samples to analyse the microbiome in the mouth, fecal samples to analyse the microbiome in the intestine, and serum samples for metabolomic profiling. We will try to connect this to human disease.

We are using Fitbit smart watches to monitor people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to develop better tools for measuring disease progression. ALS, often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, causes loss of strength in muscles of swallowing, breathing, and moving the arms and legs. Because ALS effects different parts of the body in each person, it is challenging to determine how quickly the disease is progressing and when treatment is helping. We will use movement and heart rate data collected from wearable devices to see if we can develop a machine learning model to monitor disease. Accurately monitoring ALS is important for developing new treatments and ensuring appropriate medical care.

The Canadian Neuromuscular Disease Registry (CNDR) is a Canada-wide registry of people diagnosed with a neuromuscular disease. It collects important medical information from patients across the country to improve the understanding of neuromuscular disease and accelerate the development of new therapies. The Canadian Neuromuscular disease registry (CNDR) encourages research that has tangible benefit to patients and promotes development of effective therapies for neuromuscular diseases including: - Clinical Research that will improve patient care and best practices - Scientific research that increases understanding of disease pathology - Epidemiological studies to better understand the nature and burden of neuromuscular disorders - Clinical trials of new therapies

The goal of this study is to find out what information people need when they are thinking about having epilepsy surgery. Experts say that all patients with drug-resistant epilepsy should think about surgery as a treatment. Surgery can lead to better health, but it is not used as often as it could be. One reason is that deciding to have brain surgery is complicated and can feel overwhelming. To help with this, our team is doing something called World Café. These are small group discussions where people share their thoughts, experiences, and questions in a relaxed, welcoming setting. We will use these conversations to better understand what patients want to know when thinking about epilepsy surgery. This study aims to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the information needs in considering surgery for epilepsy management? 2. What tools are needed in order to provide this information? (e.g. handouts, webinars, apps, online modules) 3. What is the best way to disseminate this information? (e.g. through epilepsy associations? In clinics?)

This study is looking at how people combine vision and proprioception. Proprioception is the sense of your body position and movement in space and is important for carrying out everyday tasks. Half of all stroke survivors have problems with proprioception. A common way to improve poor proprioception is having someone look at their arms while doing a task, but this does not always work. We think that this does not always work because the brain makes mistakes when combining information from the body and eyes. Our lab uses a technology called the Kinarm, which is a robotic exoskeleton that is linked to an eye tracker. Using the Kinarm allows us to precisely measure arm movements and eye movements during tasks. We want to look at eye and arm movements during tasks in both stroke survivors and control participants. We hope that the results of this work will help move towards better therapies for stroke survivors with proprioceptive, visual, and integration deficits.

A clinical research study to evaluating the safety and effectiveness of an investigational drug(BIIB122) in study participants diagnosed with early-stage Parkinson’s Disease(PD)

This study is a registry or database collecting information on patients who have been diagnosed with spontaneous intracranial hypotension or CSF leaks. We hope to increase our understanding of this condition by collecting data to help us understand specific aspects of this condition, such as what tests may be the most appropriate to diagnose this condition, and what treatments may offer the most benefit. There is no intervention with this study. It simply seeks to collect data from medical records and if needed, by patient interview.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease is a neuromuscular disease that results in rapid decline in normal muscle function and tone leading to difficulties with mobility, eating, drinking, breathing, sleeping, and communicating. The disease is progressive and no cure currently exists. Most people diagnosed with ALS succumb within 3 to 5 years. Rilutek® (riluzole) has been approved as a treatment to slow progression of ALS, but is minimally effective with mean increase in survival of only a few months. Radicava® or Radicut® (edaravone) has recently been approved in Canada, USA, Japan and South Korea. Muscular dysfunction present in people with ALS is caused by nerve breakdown and a dysfunction in the communication between the muscles and the nerves. The area where these communications occur is called the neuromuscular junction. Some recent studies have focused on using different medications to enhance communication at the neuromuscular junction with the goal of improving muscle function as a result. This approach is unproven but may help to slow the progression of the disease. Pimozide is a medication that has been demonstrated to enhance communication at the neuromuscular junction in fish and mice. This study will look at whether Pimozide may help to slow the progression of ALS.

We are studying a new robot assisted walking technology for children and adolscents! The Agilik is a robotic orthosis that can help people with knee-extension disorders walk. We are interested in understanding how the Agilik might help people. Participants will train with the Agilik at the Alberta Children's Hospital over a period of time to meet their training goals. Participants will complete assessments, surveys, and interviews to help us learn about the impact of the Agilik.