Patient-reported, Health Economic and Psychosocial Outcomes in Friedreich Ataxia (PROFA)
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05943002 |
Recruitment Status :
Recruiting
First Posted : July 12, 2023
Last Update Posted : September 7, 2023
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Condition or disease |
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Friedreich Ataxia |
There is a lack of knowledge about the patient-reported, psychosocial, and economic impact of Friedreich's Ataxia (FA). The few previous studies were based on small sample sizes and annual cross-sectional data, limiting the generalizability of the results.
Therefore, the PROFA study aims
- to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and usability of a mobile-health app for the collection of longitudinal real-time data,
- to determine healthcare costs from a societal perspective that includes informal care productivity losses, to assess associated factors and to analyze the impact of evidence-based treatment on costs,
- to validate measures of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), to assess patients' HRQoL and its fluctuation over time and identify associated factors,
- to develop, validate and evaluate a new measure of hearing and speech disabilities' impact on patients' psychosocial health, and
- to evaluate interaction effects between HRQoL, psychosocial health and economic outcomes in patients with FA.
Thus, the PROFA study will gain a comprehensive understanding of the individual, societal, and economic burden of FA, identifying determinants of health and social life and efficient use of healthcare resources. This is crucial to improve the treatment, care, and everyday life of FA patients and their families.
This validation and observational study will recruit patients from six study centers (Germany, France, and Austria). The data assessment will be based on (i) a baseline assessment via interviews at the study centers and (ii) a subsequent remote momentary data assessment via a mobile-health app on a daily to monthly basis for six months, covering assessments of ataxia severity, HRQoL, psychosocial health, speech and hearing disabilities, health services utilization, and specific health events. Descriptive and multivariate statistics will be used to describe the impact of FA on the patient-reported HRQoL, psychosocial health and economic outcomes.
Study Type : | Observational |
Estimated Enrollment : | 200 participants |
Observational Model: | Cohort |
Time Perspective: | Prospective |
Official Title: | Patient-reported, Health Economic and Psychosocial Outcomes in Friedreich Ataxia |
Actual Study Start Date : | June 1, 2023 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | August 31, 2024 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | October 31, 2024 |

- Usability of the mobile-health app as a remote monitoring momentary data assessment tool [ Time Frame: Six months ]Completeness of data
- Acceptability of the mobile-health app as a remote monitoring momentary data assessment tool [ Time Frame: Month 6 ]Acceptability is assessed by a self-developed questionnaire (asking patients to rate the app based on user experience)
- Total societal costs [ Time Frame: Six months ]Aggregated healthcare costs of utilized healthcare services, informal care and productivity losses
- Health-realted quality of life [ Time Frame: Month 1 ]Health-related quality of life assessed by the "Patient Reported Outcome Measures for Ataxia" Short-Form (PROM-ATAX), with a score range between 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating lower health-related quality of life
- Health-realted quality of life [ Time Frame: Month 3 ]Health-related quality of life assessed by the "Patient Reported Outcome Measures for Ataxia" Short-Form (PROM-ATAX), with a score range between 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating lower health-related quality of life
- Health-realted quality of life [ Time Frame: Month 5 ]Health-related quality of life assessed by the "Patient Reported Outcome Measures for Ataxia" Short-Form (PROM-ATAX), with a score range between 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating lower health-related quality of life
- Health-realted quality of life [ Time Frame: Month 6 ]Health-related quality of life assessed by the "Patient Reported Outcome Measures for Ataxia" Short-Form (PROM-ATAX), with a score range between 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating lower health-related quality of life
- Psychosocial health due to communication handicaps caused by speech and hearing disabilities [ Time Frame: Month 1 ]Psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities assessed by the "Scale for the psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities in Friedreich Ataxia" (COM-ATAX) with a score range between 0 to 68 (higher scores indicate more difficulties)
- Psychosocial health due to communication handicaps caused by speech and hearing disabilities [ Time Frame: Month 2 ]Psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities assessed by the "Scale for the psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities in Friedreich Ataxia" (COM-ATAX) with a score range between 0 to 68 (higher scores indicate more difficulties)
- Psychosocial health due to communication handicaps caused by speech and hearing disabilities [ Time Frame: Month 3 ]Psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities assessed by the "Scale for the psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities in Friedreich Ataxia" (COM-ATAX) with a score range between 0 to 68 (higher scores indicate more difficulties)
- Psychosocial health due to communication handicaps caused by speech and hearing disabilities [ Time Frame: Month 4 ]Psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities assessed by the "Scale for the psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities in Friedreich Ataxia" (COM-ATAX) with a score range between 0 to 68 (higher scores indicate more difficulties)
- Psychosocial health due to communication handicaps caused by speech and hearing disabilities [ Time Frame: Month 5 ]Psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities assessed by the "Scale for the psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities in Friedreich Ataxia" (COM-ATAX) with a score range between 0 to 68 (higher scores indicate more difficulties)
- Psychosocial health due to communication handicaps caused by speech and hearing disabilities [ Time Frame: Month 6 ]Psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities assessed by the "Scale for the psychosocial impact of hearing and speech disabilities in Friedreich Ataxia" (COM-ATAX) with a score range between 0 to 68 (higher scores indicate more difficulties)
- Fluctuation of health-related quality of life [ Time Frame: Day one, two and three in months 1 ]Change in health-related quality of life measured by the 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L) with a score range between 0 and 1 (higher values indicate higher health-related quality of life)
- Fluctuation of health-related quality of life [ Time Frame: Day one, two and three in months 3 ]Change in health-related quality of life measured by the 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L) with a score range between 0 and 1 (higher values indicate higher health-related quality of life)
- Fluctuation of health-related quality of life [ Time Frame: Day one, two and three in months 5 ]Change in health-related quality of life measured by the 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L) with a score range between 0 and 1 (higher values indicate higher health-related quality of life)
- Fluctuation of health-related quality of life [ Time Frame: Day one, two and three in months 6 ]Change in health-related quality of life measured by the 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L) with a score range between 0 and 1 (higher values indicate higher health-related quality of life)

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 12 Years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Sampling Method: | Non-Probability Sample |
Inclusion Criteria:
- FA confirmed by molecular genetic testing
- Ataxia severity of ≤30 points according to the Scale of the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA)
- Access to a smartphone or tablet and able to operate the device
- Older than 12 years
Exclusion Criteria:
- Lack of ability to give consent
- Ataxia severity >30 according to the Scale of the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA)

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT05943002
Contact: Bernhard Michalowsky, PD Dr. | +49 3834 868530 | bernhard.michalowsky@dzne.de | |
Contact: Maresa Buchholz, Dr. | +49 3834 868534 | maresa.buchholz@dzne.de |
Austria | |
Klinik für Neurologie, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck | Recruiting |
Innsbruck, Austria, 6020 | |
Contact: Sylvia Boesch, Prof. Dr. Sylvia.Boesch@i-med.ac.at | |
France | |
Paris Brain Institute | Not yet recruiting |
Paris, France, 75013 | |
Contact: Alexandra Durr, Prof. Dr. alexandra.durr@icm-institute.org | |
Contact: Rania Hilab rania.hilab@icm-institute.org | |
Principal Investigator: Stéphanie Borel, Dr. | |
Germany | |
Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University | Recruiting |
Aachen, Germany, 52074 | |
Contact: Kathrin Reetz, Prof. Dr. kreetz@ukaachen.de | |
German Center for Neuro-degenerative Diseases (DZNE) | Recruiting |
Bonn, Germany, 53127 | |
Contact: Thomas Klockgether, Prof. Dr. klockgether@uni-bonn.de | |
Contact: Marcus Grobe-Einsler, Dr. marcus.grobe-einsler@dzne.de | |
Principal Investigator: Marcus Grobe-Einsler, Dr. | |
Friedrich-Baur-Institut an der Neurologischen Klinik und Poliklinik | Recruiting |
Münich, Germany, 80336 | |
Contact: Thomas Klopstock, Prof. Dr. Thomas.Klockgether@ukbonn.de | |
Neurologische Klinik und Hertie-Institut für Klinische Hirnforschung, Universitätsklinik Tübingen | Not yet recruiting |
Tübingen, Germany, 72076 | |
Contact: Ludger Schöls, Prof. Dr. Ludger.Schoels@uni-tuebingen.de |
Principal Investigator: | Bernhard Michalowsky, PD Dr. | German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Rostock/ Greifswald, Germany |
Responsible Party: | German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT05943002 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
GR026 |
First Posted: | July 12, 2023 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | September 7, 2023 |
Last Verified: | December 2022 |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | No |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
health-related quality of life economic evaluation psychosocial health |
mobile-health app Friedreich's Ataxia Ambulatory assessment |
Ataxia Cerebellar Ataxia Friedreich Ataxia Dyskinesias Neurologic Manifestations Nervous System Diseases Cerebellar Diseases Brain Diseases |
Central Nervous System Diseases Spinocerebellar Degenerations Spinal Cord Diseases Heredodegenerative Disorders, Nervous System Neurodegenerative Diseases Genetic Diseases, Inborn Mitochondrial Diseases Metabolic Diseases |