View clinical trials related to Tourette Syndrome.
Filter by:Background: - Previous studies have given researchers information on how the brain controls movement, how people learn to make fine, skilled movements, and why some people have movement disorders. However, further research is needed to learn more about the causes of most movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. - By using small, specialized studies to evaluate people with movement disorders and compare them with healthy volunteers, researchers hope to learn more about the changes in the brain and possible causes of movement disorders. Objectives: - To better understand how the brain controls movement. - To learn more about movement disorders. - To train movement disorder specialists. Eligibility: - Individuals 18 years of age or older who have had a movement disorder diagnosed by a neurologist and are able to participate based on the specific requirements of the small study. - Healthy volunteers 18 years of age or older. Design: - Participants will have a screening visit with medical history, physical examination, and questionnaire to determine eligibility. Eligible participants will give consent to participate in up to seven additional outpatient visits for study procedures. The number of sessions and the procedures needed for participation depend on specific symptoms. - Participants must avoid drinking alcohol or caffeinated drinks (sodas, coffee, and tea) for at least 2 days (48 hours) before each session. - Potential studies may include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, functional MRI scans, electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, transcranial magnetic stimulation, nerve and sensory stimulation, or movement and mental tasks during any of the above procedures. - This study does not provide treatment for movement disorders. Participants will not have to stop any treatment in order to participate.
A joint NIH -Tourette Syndrome Association Conference has emphasized the critical need for the testing and development of new pharmacotherapy for tic suppression in Tourette syndrome (TS). This submission is a safety, tolerability and efficacy pilot study using two medications that modulate glutamate neurotransmission, riluzole, a glutamate antagonist, and D-serine, a glutamate agonist. Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, an essential component of pathways implicated in TS and an extensive modulator of dopamine, the major neurotransmitter associated with tics. This is a single site, short-term, proof of concept study of riluzole and D-serine for the treatment of tics. Each medication will be evaluated and compared to placebo as part of a double-blind, randomized, parallel, flexible dose, three-arm, 8-week, treatment protocol (D-serine, riluzole, or placebo). A total of sixty patients (age 8-17 years) with TS and moderate to moderately-severe tics will receive study medication according to a 2:1 (dopamine modulating drug: placebo), randomized schedule, i.e., riluzole (n=24), D-serine (n=24), placebo (n=12). The primary outcome measure is tic suppression as determined by changes in the Total Tic Subscore of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS). Secondary tic outcome measures include changes in the YGTSS Total Score and two Global Impression Scales. Further, since both riluzole and D-serine have been proposed as treatments for obsessive-compulsive behaviors, a TS co-morbidity, these symptoms will be followed. Safety measures include serial physical examinations, vital signs, laboratory studies (comprehensive metabolic panel, complete blood count, plasma amino acids, and urine analyses), documentation of side effects and adverse events, and measurement of changes in ADHD, depression and anxiety. This pilot investigation will provide important proof-of-concept data on glutamate therapies for TS and, in turn, evidence for large-scale, multi-center clinical trials.
This study will investigate the sensation that many people with Tourette syndrome (TS) experience before they have a motor tic. It will also test whether blocking the sensation causes the tic to stop. People between 18 and 65 years of age with TS who have at least once tic involving an arm may be eligible for this 3-part study. Those enrolled may participate in all parts or in part 1 or part 2. Those who choose to participate in part 3 must first complete part 2. All must stop taking medication for TS and any other medication that may affect the brain for at least 1 week before the study. Part 1 After numbing the skin or muscles of the arm or leg where a pre-tic sensation is experienced, the response of the nerves will be tested by asking subjects to rate the strength of the sensation after a pinprick and by stimulating the nerves with small electrical shocks. Then, over the course of approximately one hour, subjects will report pre-tic sensations while their motor tics are counted. The onset of each tic will be identified with EMG, a test using electrodes on the skin to indicate the activity of the muscles. Part 2 Subjects brain waves are recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG) while they are experiencing tics andpre-tic sensory experiences. MEG is a test that records magnetic field changes produced by brain activity. Subjects sit in a chair under a dome containing magnetic field detectors. They watch a clock and report the time a sensory experience starts. Tics are recorded with EMG. Later, a standard MRI of the brain (scan using a magnetic field and radio waves) is done to see which parts of the brain produced the activity recorded with MEG. Part 3 Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is used to try to stop the pre-tic sensations. For TMS, the subject sits in a chair. A wire coil is held on the subject s scalp, and a brief electrical current is passed through the coil, creating a magnetic pulse that stimulates a region of the brain. The goal of this stimulation is to reduce the sensory experience that precedes a tic in one region of the body. During stimulation, the subject hears a click and may feel a pulling sensation on the skin under the coil. There may be a twitch in the muscles of the face, arm or leg. This study uses a pattern of repeated pulses delivered in short bursts. Following each train of pulses, the effect of the stimulation on sensation will be tested by asking the subject to rate the strength of a pinprick and of a vibration. In addition, the nerves are stimulated with small shocks to evaluate the effect of the TMS on nerve activity. To determine the effect of TMS on the pre-tic sensation, subjects are asked to watch a clock and report when they are having a sensory experience. The effect on motor tics will be evaluated by using EMG to indicate the tics.
The purpose of this trial is to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole in children and adolescents aged 6~18 years with chronic tic disorders or Tourette's disorder
Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome is a childhood onset inherited neuropsychiatric disorder characterised by the presence of both multiple motor tics and one or more vocal tics (noises), with psychiatric and/or behaviour disorders (such as obsessive compulsive behaviour…). This disease is associated with an dopamine system imbalance which could be responsible of a specific trouble in the recognition in some facial expression. This has been already shown in Gilles de la Tourette patients with obsessive compulsive behaviour. We hypothesise that patients with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome present a dysfunction of voluntary and automatic treatment of emotional information. The main purpose of this study is to show if patients with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome present a lack of specific facial expression recognition of emotion and determinate more precisely if this alteration involves the cortical way (high frequency way) or the under cortical way (low frequency way).
Dr. Kevin J. Black at Washington University is conducting a study to learn whether we can use MRI scans to test dopamine function in the brain and to determine whether the brain performs memory tasks differently in Tourette Syndrome (TS). TS is a movement disorder characterized by vocal tics (sounds) and motor tics (movements). We will measure how and where brain activity changes using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans during memory tasks and after taking levodopa. Levodopa is a drug commonly used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD), a very different movement disorder.
The primary aims of this study are to assess: 1. The inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the MINI-KID 2. The validity of the standard MINI-KID interview in relation to the parent rated pencil/paper version (MINI-KID-P) and th longer clinician rated "Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) and "expert opinion" (when available). Secondary aims will include evaluating the concordance between: The Children's Global Assessment Scale (a required part of the K-SADS) with the clinician-rated Sheehan Disability Scale (to be administered with the MINI-KID) as a measure of illness severity.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, flexible dose study to evaluate efficacy and safety of Pramipexole versus placebo for 6 weeks in children (age 6-17) diagnosed with Tourette Disorder according to DSM IV criteria. The primary efficacy measure will be the Total Tic Score (TTS) of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) at 6 weeks.
This study will evaluate the clinical efficacy of 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to the supplementary motor area (SMA) in Tourette's Syndrome (TS) patients who have not fully responded to conventional therapies. The investigators will collect TMS measures of motor cortex excitability to test whether rTMS restores normal levels of intracortical inhibition found to be deficient in TS. The investigators will administer neuropsychological tests to demonstrate that SMA targeted rTMS can be administered safely without significant impairments of cognitive or motor functioning. The investigators hypothesize that: 1. Compared to sham (placebo), active rTMS will improve symptoms of TS as assessed with the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (Y-GTSS) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI). 2. Active (but not sham) rTMS will normalize levels of motor cortex excitability, as reflected by increased intracortical inhibition, motor threshold, and cortical silent period, and by decreased intracortical facilitation, relative to pre-treatment baseline.
This is a clinical study of a cognitive-behavioral therapy known as anger control training in adolescents with Tourette Syndrome and explosive, disruptive behavior. ACT is compared to treatment as usual (TAU) in a randomized clinical trial.