View clinical trials related to Dystonia.
Filter by:Ataxia-Telangiectasia A-T is a neurodegenerative disorder of the cerebellum, manifesting with ataxia, as well as extrapyramidal features. Treatment of A-T is discouraging, since no treatment seems to change the course of disease, but improvement can be achieved by symptomatic treatment of the bothersome movement disorder . While various dopaminergic agents are occasionally used, reports of benefit are rather sparse and anecdotal. Amantadine, a well known drug used in influenza as well as movement disorder of Parkinson, has been proved to improve various other types of movement disorder as ataxia, chorea, dystonia, akinesia and attention span. The purpose of this study is to investigate weather amantadine sulphate improves ataxia and the movement disorder (bradykinesia, parkinsonism, dystonia, chorea), as well as the general well being in patients with A-T.
Background: - Blepharospasm is caused by excessive contraction of the muscles that close the eye. It can be treated with injections of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), which works by weakening those muscles. - Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 (AH-8) is the active ingredient in a number of cosmetic creams used to treat wrinkles, and is marketed under the trade name Argireline(Copyright). Like BoNT, AH-8 works to weaken the muscles, but is available as a skin cream instead of an injection. AH-8 has never been used to treat people with blepharospasm. Objectives: - To determine if AH-8 can be used as part of a treatment regimen for blepharospasm. Eligibility: - Individuals 18 years of age and older who have blepharospasm and have been receiving successful treatment with botulinum toxin injections. Design: - Participants will be involved in the study for a maximum of 7 months. - Patients will have a complete physical and neurological exam, and will be asked questions about their blepharospasm. Patients will then receive BoNT injections in the same areas of the muscle around the eye and at the same doses that have been effective previously. - After the injections, patients will receive a container of either the active cream (with AH-8) or cream without AH-8, and will be instructed on how to apply it. - Patients will return 1 month after the first visit for another neurologic exam and questions, and will be asked about any side effects. Another supply of cream will be given. - Five additional visits will take place on a monthly basis, and patients will be given additional supplies of the cream as needed. Patients will stop participating in the study if they require another BoNT injection for blepharospasm. The study will end after 7 months.
Theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TBS) is a type of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) method that reduces the excitability of a small region of brain for less than one hour. Since dystonia and spasticity may be associated with increased excitability of motor cortex, we expect that by reducing the excitability of motor cortex with TBS we will temporarily improve these symptoms and hopefully open avenues in the future for the use of TBS as a new, non-invasive therapeutic intervention to aid in physical therapy and symptom amelioration of dystonia and spasticity. We will test for motor improvement during the hour immediately following TBS using tests of muscle function and quality of limb movement.
This study is an observational trial which will measure the efficacy of onabotulinumtoxinA in treating Cervical Dystonia.
A post marketing, international, multicenter, observational, prospective, longitudinal study. The purpose of the study is to describe cervical dystonia sub-types with their injection protocols and response to BoNT-A.
The purpose of this study is to gather observational data on an already FDA-approved implantation technique for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in which the entire surgery is performed within an MRI scanner ("interventional MRI", or iMRI). With this surgical technique, the patient is fully asleep (under general anesthesia) during DBS implantation. The standard method for the placement of deep brain stimulators does not use MRI during the actual DBS placement. The standard method involves placement of a rigid frame on the patient's head, performance of a short MRI scan, transport to the operating room, placement of the DBS electrodes in the operating room, and return to the MRI suite for another MR to confirm correct electrode placement. In the standard method, the patient must be awake for 2-4 hours in the operating room to have "brain mapping" performed, where the brain target is confirmed by passing "microelectrodes" (thin wires) into the brain to record its electrical activity. In the standard method, general anesthesia is not required. With the iMRI technique, the surgery is guided entirely by MRI images performed multiple times as the DBS electrode is advanced. This eliminates the need for the patient to be awake, and eliminates the need for passing microelectrodes into the brain before placing the permanent DBS electrode.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN)for primary dystonia.
The purpose of this study is to determine how to improve treatment of patients with cervical dystonia who have not been helped with standard Botox injections. This study is for patients with cervical dystonia who have not benefited from treatment with Botox using conventional "single lead electromyographic (EMG) techniques" for injection. The study aim is to see if these patients may have significantly more benefit if their Botox is injected into muscles that have been chosen with a multi-channel EMG mapping study of the neck prior to Botox injection.
This study will examine how the brain controls speech in patients with spasmodic dysphonia, a voice disorder that involves involuntary spasms of muscles in the larynx (voice box), causing breaks in speech. Although the causes of spasmodic dysphonia are unknown, recent studies found changes in brain function in patients with the disorder that may play a role in its development. People between 21 and 80 years of age with adductor spasmodic dysphonia may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with the following procedures: Medical history and physical examination. Nasolaryngoscopy to examine the larynx. For this test, the inside of the subject s nose is sprayed with a decongestant and a small, flexible tube called a nasolaryngoscope is passed through the nose to the back of the throat to allow examination of the larynx. The subject may be asked to talk, sing, whistle and say prolonged vowels during the procedure. The nasolaryngoscope is connected to a camera that records the movement of the vocal cords during these tasks. Voice and speech recording to measure the type and severity of voice disorder. Subjects are asked questions about their voice disorder and their voice is recorded while they repeat sentences and sounds. Participants undergo positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, as follows: PET: A catheter is placed in a vein in the subject s arm to inject a radioactive substance called a tracer that is detected by the PET scanner and provides information on brain function. [11C]flumazenil is used in one scanning session and [11C]raclopride is used in another. For the scan, the subject lies on a bed that slides in and out of the doughnut-shaped scanner, wearing a custom-molded mask to support the head and prevent it from moving during the scan. For the first scan the subject lies quietly for 60 minutes. For the second scan, the subject lies quietly for 50 minutes and is then asked to say sentences during another 50 minutes. The amount of radiation received in this study equals to a uniform whole-body exposure of 0.9 rem, which is within the dose guideline established by the NIH Radiation Safety Committee for research subjects. The guideline is an effective dose of 5 rem received per year. MRI: This procedure uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves instead of X-rays to obtain images of the brain. The subject lies on a table that slides into the scanner, a narrow metal cylinder, wearing ear plugs to muffle loud knocking sounds that occur during the scan. Images of the brain structure are obtained while the subject lies still in the machine for 10 minutes. This is followed by functional MRI (fMRI) for 60 minutes, in which pictures are taken while the subject speaks, showing changes in brain regions that are involved in speech production.
The investigators wish to establish on a small scale the effectiveness of adding the physiotherapy programme developed by Jean-Pierre Bleton to the present standard treatment for cervical dystonia with a view to undertaking a larger UK-wide trial looking at overall cost-effectiveness. Specifically, the investigators wish to establish: 1. Whether this specific physiotherapy program for cervical dystonia improves patient outcomes in terms of neck position, pain, disability, and quality of life compared to simple physiotherapy advice? 2. What is the minimal clinically important change in the new CDIP-58 quality of life measure for cervical dystonia from a patient's perspective that could then be used to plan a definitive trial of this technique? 3. What are the economic implications of the specialized physiotherapy programme?