Physiology of Weakness in Movement Disorders

Movement Disorders Clinical Trial

Official title: Physiology of Weakness With Movement Disorders

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

This study will compare electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings in healthy volunteers and in people with movement disorders to examine brain activity associated with the weakness. EEG records the electrical activity of the brain ("brain waves").

Healthy volunteers and patients with arm or leg weakness who are between 18 and 80 years of age may be eligible for this study. Healthy subjects are screened with a medical history, physical and neurological examinations, and a questionnaire. They must be right-handed and never have had a neurological disease or head trauma.

All participants have an EEG. An elastic cap with electrodes is placed on the subject's scalp to record the brain's electrical activity. During the EEG, subjects are required to resist against a force with their arm, elbow, shoulder or leg for as long as they can. Several recordings are done with short breaks between them.

Clinical Trial Description

Objective

Give way weakness is a symptom often associated with psychogenic etiology, but its neurophysiological basis is poorly understood. Our objective in this study is to identify the cerebral mechanism of give way weakness.

Study population

We will study 6 patients with give way weakness and 6 healthy volunteers all age 18 years old or older.

Design

In this study, patients will try to resist against the examiner's force and subsequently give way. Electroencephalography (EEG) will be recorded while this maneuver is performed repeatedly.

Outcome measures

Movement-related cortical potential (MRCP) analysis will be performed on the data and its amplitude (in volts) and latency (in seconds) in each individual patient will be described in contrast to the data obtained from healthy volunteers. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Disease
• Movement Disorders

• NCT number: NCT00307346
• Study type: Observational
• Source: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: March 23, 2006
• Completion date: January 25, 2011