Spinocerebellar Atrophy (SCA) Clinical Trial
In individuals with spino-cerebellar atrophy (SCA), the delayed onset of antagonist muscle
firing has been reported to be the cause of hypermetria. Hypermetria is a common deficit in
individuals with spino-cerebellar atrophy SCA when they perform ballistic goal-directed
movement. Based on the previous studies, ballistic goal-directed movements are controlled by
a triphasic pattern of agonistic and antagonistic muscle activation. The origin of the EMG
pattern is a central program, whereas the delayed onset of antagonistic muscle firing has
been reported to be the cause of hypermetria. To develop a therapy method, the difference in
temporal pattern and intensity of supraspinal excitability of agonist and antagonist bursts
between healthy adults and individuals with SCA when performing rapid and slow goal-directed
movements should be further investigated.
Traditional rehabilitations of individuals with cerebellum lesion were limited to improve
the functional performance of movement. Since the deficits of the goal-directed movement are
at pre-movement programming, only feedforward training will be possible to re-establish an
appropriate program.
Previous showed that peripheral stimulation resulted in a facilitation of motor cortex. Our
group also found that this facilitation in individuals with SCA was similar to the ones
without SCA. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the control pattern of supraspinal
excitability of agonist and antagonist busts of SCA patient with passively providing
electrical stimulation contains normal control pattern of healthy human.
The present study sought to investigate the difference in temporal pattern and intensity of
supraspinal excitability of agonist and antagonist bursts between healthy adults and
individuals with SCA when performing rapid and slow goal-directed movements.
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Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment