Quantitative studies of leg weakness in a neurological setting
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Quantitative studies of leg weakness in a neurological setting
IRAS ID
350938
Contact name
Jon Stone
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is one of the most common reasons for an outpatient neurological consultation and can cause severe disability and distress. It affects around 50,000–100,000 people in the UK.
In this study, we want to study 'Hoover's sign', one of the commonest clinical signs that doctors use to diagnose FND when it causes leg weakness. Normally, doctors test this by using their hands to test muscle strength.
We have made a new portable device to measure how strong your leg is when trying to push your heel onto the ground. It's similar to a weighing scale.
We will test this device on healthy volunteers, people with FND, Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis. If we can measure Hoover’s sign rather than just relying on doctors saying whether it is present, we think this will help with FND research. We also think that looking for Hoover’s sign in other neurological conditions may help improve treatment for some people with those conditions as well.
This study is not to achieve UKCA/CE UKNI/CE marking (i.e. regulated medical device trial), but to collect data to pilot the device
REC name
South East Scotland REC 01
REC reference
25/SS/0114
Date of REC Opinion
10 Dec 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion