ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03768648AUBACOGUpdated May 20, 2026

Cognition and MRI Markers in MS Patients With Aubagio® Treatment

An interventional study of Clinical assessment and Ecological evaluation in Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting, sponsored by University Hospital, Bordeaux. Completed at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-20.

Sponsored by University Hospital, Bordeaux · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
75
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Cognitive impairment is nowadays more and more recognized as an important feature of the multiple sclerosis (MS) disease which contributes largely to disability. Cognitive assessment using classical neuropsychological tests are poorly correlated with patient's complaints and daily functioning. Ecological evaluations, recent and innovative way to assess cognitive functions with the true impact of cognitive impairment in everyday daily life of patients. One goal of an ecological test could be to identify MS patients in whom cognitive impairment has a strong interaction with daily life. Different type of ecological evaluation have been recently proposed in MS, including assessment cognitive tasks in a virtual reality environment using the Urban DailyCog® software developed in our laboratory (Hamel et al, 2015). Virtual reality environment assessments are promising in detecting cognitive impairment while providing friendly assessments for patients and simulating daily activities. . Cognitive dysfunction is correlated with white matter diffuse injury in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients and brain atrophy However, the relationships between structural brain damage and brain connectivity with cognitive functioning assessed by ecological evaluation are also unknown. The use of new techniques for morphological and functional MRI can study the contribution of diffuse white matter (WM) alteration and diffuse gray matter (GM) alterations in cognitive impairment and on their evolution.

The objectives are to evaluate the ecological assessment (Urban DailyCog® and actual reality) to detect cognitive impairment in everyday daily life of patients and their changes and to investigate structural WM and GM damages and the dynamic of functional connectivity for explaining and predicting cognitive disability during two years in RRMS patients treated by the same treatment Aubagio®.

02

Conditions studied

  • Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting

Keywords

  • Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System
  • Demyelinating Autoimmune Diseases, CNS
  • Demyelinating Diseases
  • Immune System Diseases
  • Nervous System Diseases
  • Pathologic Processes
  • cognitive impairment
  • ecological assessment
  • brain MRI
03

In context

Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting

618 studies on the registry are indexed under Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting; 82 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 75 is above the median of 66 across 437 interventional studies indexed under Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting.

Browse Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting studies →

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Bordeaux is the lead sponsor of 806 studies on the registry; 197 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 60 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

PATIENTS

  • Male or female
  • Age 18-60 years
  • RRMS diagnosis according to McDonald criteria (Polman et al., 2005);
  • Treated with Aubagio® (Indication for therapy)
  • Native French speaking
  • Being affiliated to health insurance
  • Having signed an (at the latest on the day of inclusion and before any examination required by research)

HEALTHY CONTROLS

  • Male or Female,
  • Age 18-60 years
  • Willing to participate and to sign informed consent.
  • Being affiliated to health insurance
  • Having signed an informed consent (at the latest on the day of inclusion and before any examination required by research)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

PATIENTS

  • History of neurological disease and/or other neurological diseases,
  • Psychiatric comorbidity including severe depression according to ,
  • Alcohol or other addiction to toxic,
  • Disabling visual or motor problems preventing participation to neuropsychological assessments,
  • Acquisition disorders : Dyslexia, Dysphasia, Dyscalculia and dyspraxia,
  • Dosage change, stop or start of hypnotic or anxiolytic or antidepressive treatment less than 30 days
  • Relapse since less than one month,
  • treatment less than one month (be taken orally or by infusion) at the dosage of 500mg daily,
  • Prior neuropsychological testing with the same tests less than 6 months
  • to MRI (pacemakers, aneurysm clips, artificial heart valves, ear implants, metal fragments or foreign objects in the eyes, skin or body, claustrophobia) or refusing MRI
  • Illiteracy, is unable to count or to read
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • Patient concerned by articles L 1121-5 to L 1121-8 (persons deprived of their liberty by a judicial or administrative decision, minors, persons of legal age who are the object of a legal protection measure or unable to express their consent)

HEALTHY CONTROLS

  • History of neurological disease and/or neurological diseases
  • Psychiatric comorbidity including severe depression according to DSM-IV;
  • Alcohol or other toxic addiction;
  • Known cognitive complaint or neuropsychological affection
  • Hypnotic or anxiolytic or antidepressive treatment,
  • Prior neuropsychological testing with the same tests less than 6 months
  • Acquisition disorders: Dyslexia, Dysphasia, Dyscalculia and dyspraxia,
  • Steroid treatment less than one month (be taken orally or by infusion) at the dosage of 500mg daily,
  • Contra-indication to MRI (pacemakers, aneurysm clips, artificial heart valves, ear implants, metal fragments or foreign objects in the eyes, skin or body, claustrophobia) or refusing MRI
  • Illiteracy, is unable to count or to read
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • Person concerned by articles L 1121-5 to L 1121-8 (persons deprived of their liberty by a judicial or administrative decision, minors, persons of legal age who are the object of a legal protection measure or unable to express their consent)
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(5)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Line of therapy

A line of therapy is one course of treatment, which may combine several drugs. First-line is the first course given; second-line follows when that stops working or is not tolerated.

“Two prior lines” means two courses that count separately under the study’s rules — not simply two drugs. Ask the study team if you are unsure how yours are counted.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

DSM diagnostic criteria

The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
75 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    patient

    RRMS diagnosis according to McDonald criteria (Polman et al.,2005);

    Other: Clinical assessment · Other: Ecological evaluation · Other: Neuropsychological evaluation · Other: Psychological evaluation · Device: MRI Evaluation

  • Active comparator
    Control

    40 Healthy controls (HC)

    Other: Ecological evaluation · Other: Neuropsychological evaluation · Other: Psychological evaluation · Device: MRI Evaluation

Interventions

  • OtherClinical assessment

    EDSS (Kurtzke JF; 1983) and the modified MS functional composite (MSFC) score. MS history and MS treatment will be recorded

  • OtherEcological evaluation

    Virtual reality task : Urban DailyCog© and Actual reality

  • OtherNeuropsychological evaluation

    cognitive tests exploring information processing speed, attention/concentration, working and episodic memories and executive function

  • OtherPsychological evaluation

    questionnaires for depression, anxiety and fatigue

  • DeviceMRI Evaluation

    morphological MRI and resting state functional MRI (fMRI)

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change of composite z ecological score based on individual ecological scores.

    The composite z ecological score is the average of z ecological scores of virtual reality task (Urban DailyCog©) and actual reality tests. Z-scores will be calculated for each cognitive score with the following formula: (patient's score - mean value of HC group matched for age, sex, and education level)/standard deviation of the matched HC for each evaluation time (baseline and 2 years).

    Time frame: At baseline (day 0) and at 24 months from baseline

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change of composite z cognitive score based on individual neuropsychological scores

    The composite z cognitive score is the average of z individual cognitive scores. The score from each cognitive test is transformed into z-scores. Z-scores will be calculated for each cognitive score with the following formula: (patient's score - mean value of HC group matched for age, sex, and education level)/standard deviation of the matched HC for each evaluation time. Individual neuropsychological scores included in composite z cognitive score : the Alertness subtest, the divided attention subtest and the visual-scanning subtest from the TAP, The Symbol-digit-modalities-test, the Paced-Auditory-Serial-Addition-Test 3s, reversed span, the Stroop test, the Verbal fluency, Trail Making test, the California Verbal memory learning test and the Brief visual memory test -revised.

    Time frame: At baseline (day 0) and at 24 months from baseline

  2. Correlation of composite z cognitive score and ecological score with MRI parameters reflecting grey and white matter integrity and anatomic/functional connectivity

    The composite z cognitive score and the composite ecological score are the average of z individual cognitive and ecological scores. The score from each cognitive and ecological test is transformed into z-scores. Z-scores will be calculated for each cognitive score with the following formula: (patient's score - mean value of HC group matched for age, sex, and education level)/standard deviation of the matched HC for each evaluation time.

    Time frame: At baseline (day 0) and at 24 months from baseline

07

Study locations

1 site
  • CHU de Bordeaux - Service de neurologie
    Bordeaux, France
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from May 2019 to primary completion in Feb 2023, 45 months.

Of 79 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting, half reached primary completion within 29 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 15 and three quarters within 45. This study's 45 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 81 studies reached it within 29 months; a quarter within 15 and three quarters within 47.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Dec 4, 2018
First posted
Dec 7, 2018
StartActual
May 21, 2019
Primary completionActual
Feb 23, 2023
CompletionActual
Feb 23, 2023
Last update
May 20, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 20, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03768648
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 7, 2018
Start date
May 21, 2019
Primary completion
Feb 23, 2023
Completion
Feb 23, 2023
Last update
May 20, 2026

Study contacts

Aurélie RUET, Prof
principal investigator · University Hospital, Bordeaux

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Mar 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion