Active clinical trials for "Dystonic Disorders"

To study electrophysiological and imaging correlations of the clinical effectiveness of zolpidem in task-specific dystonia and to elucidate mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effects, patients with focal dystonia will be clinically evaluated and will undergo transcranial magnetic stimulation and FDG-PET CT brain imaging after a single 5 mg dose of zolpidem and placebo, in two separate sessions. Resting motor threshold (RMT), active motor threshold (AMT), resting and active input/output (IO) curve, short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) curve, long interval intracortical inhibition (LICI), intracortical facilitation (ICF), and cortical silent period (CSP) will be measured. Objective clinical improvement will be rated using Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale-movement (BFM-M) and writer's cramp rating scale (WCRS). Subjective improvement will be measured using the visual analog scale (VAS). Only a subset of patients (10 patients) will undergo positron emission tomography with 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG PET) brain imaging after a single 5 mg dose of zolpidem and placebo.

The study will include subjects diagnosed with Dystonic Tremor (DT), Essential Tremor (ET), and healthy controls in the age range of 21-80 years. Electroencephalography (EEG) will be used as the primary outcome measure. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) will be used over the motor cortices or cerebellar cortices as an intervention that is expected to have short-term (less than an hour) electrophysiological effects.

Botulinum toxin injections are the treatment of choice for cervical dystonia. Even if this treatment is successful for most of the patients, partials or completes failures still remained. Usually, botulinum toxin injections are realized by clinical localization techniques (observation and palpation of target muscles). The use of Ultrasonography to guide injections of Botulinum toxin has theoretical benefits (as an improved precision, an improved reproducibility, the targeting of deep-seated muscles, and a lower risk of adverse events) but its interest has never been demonstrated.

To see whether MINGO, a food supplement, will be able to lessen the drastic weight loss seen among X-linked Dystonia Parkinsonism patients.

This research study will examine whether magnetic or electrical stimulation of the brain can improve the involuntary closure of the eyelids in patients with blepharospasm or Meige syndrome; conditions that belong to a group of neurological disorders called dystonias. Blepharospasm and Meige syndrome cause excessive involuntary closure of the eyelids or blinking. In an earlier study of patients with writer's cramp, which is another form of dystonia, symptoms improved temporarily with brain stimulation. Interested people 18 years of age or older with blepharospasm or Meige syndrome may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history, physical examination and a blink reflex test. Participants undergo brain stimulation and evaluations before and after the stimulation to test the response, as follows: Procedures Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): A wire coil is held on the patient's scalp. A brief electrical current is passed through the coil, creating a magnetic pulse that stimulates the brain. 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. The subject may be asked to tense certain muscles slightly or perform other simple actions. The effect of TMS on the muscles is detected with small metal disk electrodes taped to the skin of the arms or legs. TMS is done on eight of the ten test days. Repetitive TMS (rTMS): The same procedure as TMS, except repeated magnetic pulses are delivered in short bursts. RTMS is done on eight of the ten test days. Theta burst stimulation (TBS): A form of rTMS that involves short bursts of impulses. TBS is done on four study days. Cathodal transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS): Two conductive-rubber electrodes placed in saline-soaked sponges are positioned over two areas of the head. A constant weak electrical current flow is applied for 20 minutes. tDCS is done on two study days. Evaluations Physician observation: The subject's eyes are videotaped for 5 minutes before and after each TMS session. A physician then counts how many times the subject blinked during the 5 minutes. Questionnaire: Subjects are asked to rate their symptoms before and after brain stimulation. Electrophysiological test of the blink reflex: Wires are taped to the skin on the nose and temple to record the eye movement during blinking. A thin plastic rod is placed on the skin over the right e...

The study involves the use of a novel, non-invasive, monitoring device to measure the response to treatment with botulinum toxin injections in 24 (16 Intervention and 8 control) patients with cervical dystonia. A baseline assessment, prior to botulinum treatment,will be structured around validated clinical rating scales for cervical dystonia and questionnaires and the performance of simple neck movements, and will be undertaken while the patient wears a movement sensor attached to the head with an elastic strap. The same assessments will be undertaken at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks following treatment to assess response. The patients' treatment will not be affected by their participation in the research. The device readings will then be compared with the clinical ratings to establish whether it might be used as a more sensitive measure of treatment response than clinical assessment alone. This will help clinicians to plan and execute botulinum injections more effectively in future

This study occurs during five visits that are already scheduled as part of "Biomarkers to Guide Directional DBS for Parkinson's Disease" (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03353688). If participants have dystonia associated with Parkinson's disease, the investigators will consent and administer one additional rating scale (Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale) to assess the severity of dystonia.

The purpose of this study is to assess the recharge feature of the Activa RC System in patients who are receiving Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's Disease (PD), Essential Tremor (ET), or dystonia.

Botox acts on nerve endings, yet there are no nerve endings inside the muscle, where they are typically injected. All nerves terminate on the fascia, where ASIS device can precisely deliver Botox by creating that subdermal bloodless space, between the skin and muscle. Thus enhancing and prolonging Botox's efficacy, at the same time prevent it's unnecessary adverse reactions and distant spread, especially since Botox has no reason to travel to the rest of the body any way.

Background: The brain has natural electrical rhythms of brain activities. These rhythms may be different in people with movement disorders, such as dystonia (involuntary muscle movement, cramps, or tremors). Understanding these rhythms may provide more information about movement disorders. Focal hand dystonia, also known as "writer's cramp" or "musician's cramp," is a painful condition that affects the hand and arm muscles. Researchers want to use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to study brain rhythms in people with and without focal hand dystonia. Objectives: - To better understand brain rhythms involved in focal hand dystonia. Eligibility: Individuals between 18 and 70 years of age who are right-handed and have focal hand dystonia. Healthy right-handed volunteers between 18 and 60 years of age. Design: Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. This study includes two tests: a pilot test and a main test. The pilot test will determine the frequency of TMS that will be used in the main test. Participants may be in one or both tests. Each test requires a single outpatient visit that will last up to 5 hours. Participants will have a base test to see how their muscles respond to TMS. This will look at the electrical activity of the muscles. Participants will have a wire coil held on their scalp. A brief electrical current will pass through the coil. It creates a magnetic pulse that stimulates the brain. Researchers will test the TMS on the right and left sides of the head. This will help find the spot that activates the finger muscles, and see how much TMS is needed. In the main test, participants will have repetitive TMS (rTMS). rTMS involves repeated magnetic pulses delivered in short bursts. There will be four pulses in each burst. Participants will have multiple bursts during the test. This test will look at how the muscles of the hand and fingers respond to brain stimulation. Treatment for focal hand dystonia will not be provided as part of this study.