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Condition (MeSH)

Nervous System Diseases

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 76,075 trials for Nervous System Diseases or a narrower condition beneath it. VA Office of Research and Development has the most among industry and government lead sponsors, with 522.

MeSH D009422 Nervous System Diseases C10
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Phase 1 Phase 1 4,541 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 1,813 Phase 2 Phase 2 6,709 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 1,025 Phase 3 Phase 3 4,875 Phase 4 Phase 4 3,805 Not applicable Not applicable 33,723 Observational Observational 19,396 Phase 1 Phase 1 4,541 Phase 1/2 Phase 1/2 1,813 Phase 2 Phase 2 6,709 Phase 2/3 Phase 2/3 1,025 Phase 3 Phase 3 4,875 Phase 4 Phase 4 3,805 Not applicable Not applicable 33,723 Observational Observational 19,396

Trials per phase (log scale)

2 more sections with rows

752 of the 76,075 trials are tagged with Nervous System Diseases itself; the rest are tagged with a narrower condition beneath it.

Get the Nervous System Diseases report as a PDF

The PDF carries up to 50 rows of each section, where the page shows the first few, with the sources listed. Enter a work email and confirm it from the message we send, and the report follows by email.

When did Nervous System Diseases trials start? (37)

Shown in this order: most recent first, 1990 onwards. 2026 is partial: trials registered with a 2026 start date so far, not a full year. 220 trials are registered to start in 2027 or later, and not listed here.

Trials over time, by phase

  • Phase 1
  • Phase 1/2
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 2/3
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Not applicable
  • Observational
  • Other (Expanded access, Unknown)

Top of scale: 5,626

1990: 16 trials (Observational 10, Not applicable 1, Phase 2 3, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 1) 1991: 28 trials (Observational 19, Not applicable 2, Phase 3 3, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 1) 1992: 36 trials (Observational 18, Not applicable 2, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 10, Phase 2 3, Phase 1 2) 1993: 52 trials (Observational 21, Not applicable 5, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 8, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 4) 1994: 49 trials (Observational 18, Not applicable 4, Phase 4 2, Phase 3 10, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 10, Phase 1 4) 1995: 76 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 10, Phase 4 1, Phase 3 17, Phase 2/3 2, Phase 2 9, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 6) 1996: 82 trials (Observational 30, Not applicable 9, Phase 4 5, Phase 3 11, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 15, Phase 1/2 1, Phase 1 10) 1997: 109 trials (Other 1, Observational 34, Not applicable 7, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 14, Phase 2/3 1, Phase 2 29, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 13) 1998: 162 trials (Observational 41, Not applicable 17, Phase 4 7, Phase 3 29, Phase 2/3 4, Phase 2 40, Phase 1/2 7, Phase 1 17) 1999: 199 trials (Observational 56, Not applicable 13, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 27, Phase 2/3 5, Phase 2 64, Phase 1/2 3, Phase 1 19) 2000: 259 trials (Observational 71, Not applicable 28, Phase 4 12, Phase 3 42, Phase 2/3 7, Phase 2 56, Phase 1/2 15, Phase 1 28) 2001: 362 trials (Observational 97, Not applicable 42, Phase 4 28, Phase 3 68, Phase 2/3 8, Phase 2 64, Phase 1/2 17, Phase 1 38) 2002: 476 trials (Observational 93, Not applicable 71, Phase 4 43, Phase 3 93, Phase 2/3 10, Phase 2 99, Phase 1/2 24, Phase 1 43) 2003: 667 trials (Other 1, Observational 151, Not applicable 111, Phase 4 80, Phase 3 119, Phase 2/3 21, Phase 2 119, Phase 1/2 24, Phase 1 41) 2004: 849 trials (Observational 155, Not applicable 148, Phase 4 102, Phase 3 167, Phase 2/3 22, Phase 2 166, Phase 1/2 26, Phase 1 63) 2005: 1,086 trials (Other 1, Observational 218, Not applicable 186, Phase 4 122, Phase 3 189, Phase 2/3 18, Phase 2 220, Phase 1/2 34, Phase 1 98) 2006: 1,322 trials (Observational 269, Not applicable 255, Phase 4 148, Phase 3 244, Phase 2/3 30, Phase 2 228, Phase 1/2 33, Phase 1 115) 2007: 1,485 trials (Observational 348, Not applicable 287, Phase 4 150, Phase 3 216, Phase 2/3 33, Phase 2 249, Phase 1/2 51, Phase 1 151) 2008: 1,631 trials (Other 1, Observational 363, Not applicable 367, Phase 4 151, Phase 3 204, Phase 2/3 45, Phase 2 260, Phase 1/2 58, Phase 1 182) 2009: 1,767 trials (Other 2, Observational 395, Not applicable 474, Phase 4 144, Phase 3 192, Phase 2/3 40, Phase 2 281, Phase 1/2 65, Phase 1 174) 2010: 1,848 trials (Observational 483, Not applicable 514, Phase 4 137, Phase 3 193, Phase 2/3 38, Phase 2 219, Phase 1/2 73, Phase 1 191) 2011: 1,985 trials (Observational 518, Not applicable 553, Phase 4 131, Phase 3 206, Phase 2/3 38, Phase 2 286, Phase 1/2 74, Phase 1 179) 2012: 2,269 trials (Other 1, Observational 609, Not applicable 754, Phase 4 170, Phase 3 189, Phase 2/3 39, Phase 2 260, Phase 1/2 73, Phase 1 174) 2013: 2,384 trials (Observational 553, Not applicable 985, Phase 4 180, Phase 3 173, Phase 2/3 38, Phase 2 219, Phase 1/2 82, Phase 1 154) 2014: 2,753 trials (Other 1, Observational 696, Not applicable 1,170, Phase 4 175, Phase 3 154, Phase 2/3 39, Phase 2 253, Phase 1/2 79, Phase 1 186) 2015: 2,968 trials (Other 2, Observational 726, Not applicable 1,323, Phase 4 179, Phase 3 179, Phase 2/3 48, Phase 2 249, Phase 1/2 77, Phase 1 185) 2016: 3,166 trials (Other 2, Observational 774, Not applicable 1,491, Phase 4 168, Phase 3 159, Phase 2/3 46, Phase 2 270, Phase 1/2 70, Phase 1 186) 2017: 3,449 trials (Other 3, Observational 892, Not applicable 1,656, Phase 4 149, Phase 3 164, Phase 2/3 49, Phase 2 270, Phase 1/2 78, Phase 1 188) 2018: 3,891 trials (Other 1, Observational 1,050, Not applicable 1,918, Phase 4 160, Phase 3 188, Phase 2/3 42, Phase 2 270, Phase 1/2 69, Phase 1 193) 2019: 4,206 trials (Other 2, Observational 1,178, Not applicable 2,047, Phase 4 163, Phase 3 177, Phase 2/3 34, Phase 2 311, Phase 1/2 79, Phase 1 215) 2020: 3,961 trials (Other 1, Observational 1,145, Not applicable 1,929, Phase 4 146, Phase 3 158, Phase 2/3 48, Phase 2 261, Phase 1/2 74, Phase 1 199) 2021: 5,111 trials (Other 3, Observational 1,467, Not applicable 2,599, Phase 4 179, Phase 3 199, Phase 2/3 55, Phase 2 315, Phase 1/2 88, Phase 1 206) 2022: 5,066 trials (Other 2, Observational 1,381, Not applicable 2,684, Phase 4 160, Phase 3 209, Phase 2/3 48, Phase 2 286, Phase 1/2 87, Phase 1 209) 2023: 5,302 trials (Observational 1,460, Not applicable 2,876, Phase 4 174, Phase 3 172, Phase 2/3 47, Phase 2 272, Phase 1/2 88, Phase 1 213) 2024: 5,626 trials (Other 1, Observational 1,458, Not applicable 3,085, Phase 4 178, Phase 3 181, Phase 2/3 55, Phase 2 295, Phase 1/2 107, Phase 1 266) 2025: 5,544 trials (Other 2, Observational 1,328, Not applicable 3,098, Phase 4 149, Phase 3 209, Phase 2/3 45, Phase 2 332, Phase 1/2 97, Phase 1 284)

Trials registered with a start date in each year, 1990 onward, stacked by phase (complete years only; the current partial year is in the table's notes). The table below lists the same counts, most recent years first.

Trials started per year
Year Trials started
2026 (partial year) 5,082
2025 5,544
2024 5,626
2023 5,302
2022 5,066
2021 5,111
2020 3,961
2019 4,206
2018 3,891
2017 3,449

Forecast of the full-year count, planned starts included, not rows of this table: about 6,300 trials starting in 2026 and about 5,700 in 2027, the average of the 24 months through September, counted as registered and carried forward, with about 0.7 times the starts already registered for the rest of 2026 added. The rows of this table count trials registered so far with a start date in the year, planned starts included; the forecast looks ahead to the count for the whole year, so it is not the same measure. In backtests on conditions of this size, forecasts made part-way through the year were typically off by about 10 percent and ran about 4 percent high against the count later registered; forecasts made before the year began were off by about 25 percent and ran about 15 percent low against the count later registered, and had about 7 percent more error than repeating last year's count. The part-way figures are from forecasts that used a multiple fitted only on earlier years. A stricter check that trains only on older years did not support adding planned starts for conditions of this size: it ran about 6 percent high against the count later registered. These figures rest on a few years of history (target years from 2018 to 2025, varying by figure), place each condition as it is mapped today rather than as it was then, and score against a count for the newest year that was still being revised. Only condition series were scored.

Prediction, not a registry value: median of 36 months from start to primary completion across 7,531 trials still running at the 2026-10-09 snapshot; registered median of 21 months across 44,175 trials with a primary completion typed Actual. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov / AACT (CTTI), public domain.

What phase are Nervous System Diseases trials in? (10)

Shown in this order: phase order.

Show the trials by phase as a table
Trials by phase
Phase Trials
Phase 1 4,541
Phase 1/2 1,813
Phase 2 6,709
Phase 2/3 1,025
Phase 3 4,875
Phase 4 3,805
Not applicable 33,723
Observational 19,396
Expanded access 168
Unknown 20

How many Nervous System Diseases trials are recruiting? (13)

Shown in this order: the order a trial moves through, from not yet recruiting to unknown.

Trials by recruitment status
Status Trials
Not yet recruiting 4,147
Recruiting 10,053
Enrolling by invitation 912
Active, not recruiting 2,699
Available 46

Status as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. Each trial is counted once.

Which lead sponsors run the most Nervous System Diseases trials? (5)

Shown in this order: most trials first. Lead sponsors the registry classes as industry, NIH, US federal, other government or network. A hospital or university the registry files as government can appear here. Sponsors it classes as academic or other are shown on the full page, because that class cannot separate an institution from a named investigator.

Lead sponsors
Sponsor Trials
VA Office of Research and Development 522
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) 482
GlaxoSmithKline 322
Novartis Pharmaceuticals 320
Pfizer 317

Which drugs are being tested for Nervous System Diseases? (4)

Shown in this order: most trials first. One row per drug, matched to a single molecule under all its names, ranked by number of trials.

Drugs tested
Drug Trials
DEXMEDETOMIDINE 328
Pregabalin 207
+/- Bupivacaine HCl 178
PMI-150 (intranasal ketamine) 172

Interventions as named in the registry (11)

Shown in this order: most trials first.

Interventions as named in the registry
Drug Trials
Control (placebo) group 287
Exercise 274
SOC: Temozolomide 227
type A botulinum toxin 219
MRI 201

These are the names sponsors entered on ClinicalTrials.gov that we have not matched to a single molecule. Some are drugs under a brand or code name; others are procedures, doses or arm labels.

Which serious adverse events do Nervous System Diseases trials report? (10)

Shown in this order: most subjects affected first. Subjects affected summed across trials, a cross-trial signal, not a rate.

Serious adverse events in this condition's trials
Adverse event Subjects affected Trials
Other 16,512 32
Pneumonia 8,775 1,200
MVE 6,060 1
Surgical and medical procedures 5,529 12
Cardiac disorders 3,989 18

Which publications cover Nervous System Diseases? (1,260)

Shown in this order: major-topic papers first, then newest, then most linked to trials.

Sub-conditions in MeSH (17)

MeSH descendants one level down with at least one trial, most trials first.

Not on this page

Not measured: delivery record.

Checked, with nothing recorded for this condition: prevalence and rare-disease identity.

Browse all condition evidence pages