View clinical trials related to Vestibular Diseases.
Filter by:Research Question: Will daily engagement in activities tailored to the evidence-based vestibular research result in improved attention and learning outcomes for children ages 6-9 years of age after an 8-week classroom-based intervention?
The objective of this study is to carry out the cross-cultural adaptation of the Mini BESTest (a balance assessment scale) into Argentine Spanish, as well as to study its validation in patients with peripheral vestibular disorders in the autonomous city of Buenos Aires.
Animal models of Kabuki syndrome have showed a reversal of the cognitive phenotype with ketogenic diet. Modified Atkins diet is safer and easier tolerated than full ketogenic diet and still has the histone deacetylase inhibition believed to be responsible for the cognitive improvement. This study aims to examine a small number of adults with Kabuki syndrome before and after 12 weeks on a modified Atkins diet to determine if there is any cognitive improvement and if the diet can be tolerated.
More than 1/3 of adults in the United States seek medical attention for vestibular disorders and hearing loss; disorders that can triple one's fall risk and have a profound effect on one's participation in activities of daily living. Hearing loss has been shown to reduce balance performance and could be one modifiable risk factor for falls. Patients with vestibular hypofunction tend to avoid busy, hectic, visually complex, and loud environments because these environments provoke dizziness and imbalance. While the visual impact on balance is well known, less is known about the importance of sounds. In search for a possible mechanism to explain a relationship between hearing and balance control, some studies suggested that sounds may serve as an auditory anchor, providing spatial cues for balance, similar to vision. However, the majority of these studies tested healthy adults' response to sounds with blocked visuals. It is also possible that a relationship between hearing loss and balance problems is navigated via an undetected vestibular deficit. By understanding the role of auditory input in balance control, falls may be prevented in people with vestibular disorders and hearing loss. Therefore, there is a critical need for a systematic investigation of balance performance in response to simultaneous visual and auditory perturbations, similar to real-life situations. To answer this need, the investigators used recent advances in virtual reality technology and developed a Head Mounted Display (HMD) protocol of immersive environments, combining specific manipulations of visuals and sounds, including generated sounds (i.e., white noise) and real-world recorded sounds (e.g., a train approaching a station). This research will answer the following questions: (1) Are sounds used for balance and if yes, via what mechanism? (2) Do individuals with single-sided hearing loss have a balance problem even without any vestibular issues? (3) Are those with vestibular loss destabilized by sounds? To address these questions, the following specific aims will be investigated in individuals with unilateral peripheral vestibular hypofunction (n=45), individuals with single-sided deafness (n=45), and age-matched controls (n=45): Aim 1: Establish the role of generated and natural sounds in postural control in different visual environments; Aim 2: Determine the extent to which a static white noise can improve balance within a dynamic visual environment.
Spanish population with unilateral peripheral vestibular disorders.
Although cochlear implants can restore hearing to individuals who have lost cochlear hair cell function, there is no adequately effective treatment for individuals suffering chronic imbalance, postural instability and unsteady vision due to loss of vestibular hair cell function. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the vestibular nerve via a chronically implanted multichannel vestibular prosthesis can partially restore vestibular reflexes that maintain steady posture and vision. This pilot clinical feasibility study of a multichannel vestibular implant system will evaluate this approach in up to ten human subjects with bilateral vestibular deficiency due to gentamicin ototoxicity or other causes of inner ear dysfunction.
The present project aims at describing how vestibular signals contribute to the multisensory mechanisms of bodily self-consciousness. There is a large body of data regarding the sensory and neural mechanisms of self-consciousness, but most studies have so far demonstrated the contribution of visual, tactile and proprioceptive signals to bodily self-consciousness. Thus, most studies have neglected the contribution of the vestibular system, a major sensory system for spatial and bodily representations. The vestibular system is sensitive to head motions in space and head inclinations with respect to gravity and it should therefore contribute significantly to several bodily experiences. This contribution should be put under neuroscientific scrutiny. We believe that the current neuroscientific models of bodily self-consciousness will be incomplete until they incorporate the contribution of vestibular signals. The present project specifically aims at testing the hypothesis according to which vestibular signals significantly influence bodily self-consciousness, in particular first-person and third-person perspective taking and the internal body models (i.e. the body schema and body image). The present project also aims at describing how cortical vestibular processing is modified during experimental changes of perspective taking and viewpoint. In addition, the present project will describe whether vestibular disorders change performances in third-person perspective taking tasks and modify internal body models. This should help understanding bodily symptoms in vestibular-defective patients. To this end, we will combine approaches from psychophysics and electrophysiology (electromyography, electroencephalography) in healthy volunteers and behavioral approached in patients with vestibular disorders. These studies should further the understanding of how the brain processes vestibular signals, which is to date poorly understood. In addition, the outcome of the present project should help understanding the multiple and complex symptoms reported by patients with vestibular diseases, and should therefore improve their treatment.