View clinical trials related to Dystonic Disorders.
Filter by:Background: - Focal hand dystonia (FHD) causes muscles to contract, leading to abnormal movements or postures. Musicians, writers, and athletes often get it. Researchers want to study how patients with this condition learn, a process of the brain that depends on a property called plasticity. Objective: - To study brain plasticity in people with FHD. Eligibility: - Right-handed adults 18 years and older with FHD. - Healthy, right-handed adult volunteers. Design: - Participants will be screened with medical history, physical exam, pregnancy test, and questionnaire about their right-handedness. - Participants will have 2 study visits on 2 different days. - Participants will sit in a chair and have up to 30 Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) pulses on the left side of the head. A brief electrical current passes through a wire coil on the scalp. They will hear a click and may feel a pulling on the skin or muscle twitches. They may have to keep their eyes open and remain alert, tense certain muscles, or perform simple finger movements. - Forty more pulses, with 10 seconds between, will be given on the left side of the head. Some will be small, some big. - Researchers will measure muscle response through small electrodes taped to the right hand. - A cloth cap will be put on the participant s head. Researchers will write on tape on the cap. - Participants will have the r-PAS. An electrical stimulator will be placed on the nerve at the right wrist. Repeated magnetic pulses will be delivered in trains or short bursts together with electrical stimulation of nerve. Participants will receive up to 840 pulses. - Participants will be contacted after a few days for a follow-up check.
Background: - The brain has natural electrical rhythms of brain activities. These rhythms may be different in people with movement disorders, such as dystonia (involuntary muscle movement, cramps, or tremors). Understanding these rhythms may provide more information about movement disorders. - Focal hand dystonia, also known as "writer's cramp" or "musician's cramp," is a painful condition that affects the hand and arm muscles. Researchers want to use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to study brain rhythms in people with and without focal hand dystonia. Objectives: - To better understand brain rhythms involved in focal hand dystonia. Eligibility: - Individuals between 18 and 70 years of age who are right-handed and have focal hand dystonia. - Healthy right-handed volunteers between 18 and 60 years of age. Design: - Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. - This study includes two tests: a pilot test and a main test. The pilot test will determine the frequency of TMS that will be used in the main test. Participants may be in one or both tests. Each test requires a single outpatient visit that will last up to 5 hours. - Participants will have a base test to see how their muscles respond to TMS. This will look at the electrical activity of the muscles. Participants will have a wire coil held on their scalp. A brief electrical current will pass through the coil. It creates a magnetic pulse that stimulates the brain. Researchers will test the TMS on the right and left sides of the head. This will help find the spot that activates the finger muscles, and see how much TMS is needed. - In the main test, participants will have repetitive TMS (rTMS). rTMS involves repeated magnetic pulses delivered in short bursts. There will be four pulses in each burst. Participants will have multiple bursts during the test. This test will look at how the muscles of the hand and fingers respond to brain stimulation. - Treatment for focal hand dystonia will not be provided as part of this study.
The ASK CHILDREN study is intended to aid in future development of various neurologic devices (i.e. neuroprostheses). The ASK CHILDREN study seeks to use study information obtained to identify more efficient strategies in the evaluation and review of neuroprostheses regulated by the Agency.
Background: - New studies in human genetics have revealed information about genetic connections to memory and motor behavior. Researchers are interested in investigating the role of genetics in motor learning, in conjunction with related studies taking place in the Human Motor Control Section of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS). Participants in motor learning studies conducted at NINDS will be asked to provide blood samples for further evaluation. Objectives: - To create a repository of blood samples from patients and healthy subjects who are participating in NINDS motor learning studies. Eligibility: - Individuals between 18 and 100 years of age who are or will be participating in motor learning research studies at the National Institutes of Health. Design: - Blood draws for genetic testing will usually be done on the same day as the motor learning study. Participants will provide one blood sample for research. - No treatment will be provided under this study....
The purpose of this study is to evaluate if there is an improved response in CD symptoms when Keppra is used as adjunctive therapy to Botox.
This study will examine the role of certain areas of the brain in blepharospasm, a type of dystonia (abnormality of movement and muscle tone) that causes unwanted or uncontrollable blinking or closing of the eyelids. The study will compare brain activity in healthy volunteers and in people with blepharospasm to find differences in the brain that may lead to better treatments for dystonia. Healthy volunteers and people with blepharospasm who are 18 years of age and older may be eligible for this study. All candidates are screened with a medical history. People with blepharospasm also have a physical examination and blepharospasm rating. Participants undergo transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electromyography (EMG) in two 4-hour sessions, separated by 1 to 7 days. TMS A wire coil is held on the subject s scalp. A brief electrical current is passed through the coil, creating a magnetic pulse that stimulates the brain. The subject hears a click and may feel a pulling sensation on the skin under the coil. There may be a twitch in muscles of the face, arm or leg. During the stimulation, subjects may be asked to tense certain muscles slightly or perform other simple actions. Repetitive TMS involves repeated magnetic pulses delivered in short bursts of impulses. Subjects receive 60 pulses per minute over 15 minutes. EMG Surface EMG is done during TMS to measure the electrical activity of muscles. For this test, electrodes (small metal disks) are filled with a conductive gel and taped to the skin of the face.
This study will use high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to look for subtle differences in brain anatomy between patients with focal hand dystonia (also called writer s cramp) and healthy normal volunteers. Patients with hand dystonia have prolonged muscle contractions that cause sustained twisting movements and abnormal postures. These abnormal movements often occur with activities such as writing, typing, playing certain musical instruments such as guitar or piano, or playing golf or darts. Patients with focal hand dystonia and healthy volunteers will be enrolled in this study. Patients will be recruited from NINDS s database of patients with focal hand dystonia. Volunteers will be selected to match the patients in age, sex and handedness. This study involves two visits to the NIH Clinical Center. The first visit is a screening visit, in which patients and volunteers will have a medical history, physical examination, neurological examination, and assessment of handedness. Women of childbearing age will be screened with a pregnancy test. Pregnant women are exclude from this study. Those who join the study will return for a second visit for magnetic resonance imaging. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of the brain. For the procedure, the participant lies still on a stretcher that is moved into the scanner (a narrow cylinder containing the magnet). Earplugs are worn to muffle loud noises caused by electrical switching of radio frequency circuits used in the scanning process. The scan will last about 45 to 60 minutes, at most. Some volunteers may be asked to return for a third visit to obtain a second MRI on a different scanner.