Active clinical trials for "Movement Disorders"

Background: Dystonia is a movement disorder in which a person s muscles contract on their own. This causes different parts of the body to twist or turn. The cause of this movement is unknown. Researchers think it may have to do with a chemical called acetylcholine. They want to learn more about why acetylcholine in the brain doesn t work properly in people with dystonia. Objective: To better understand how certain parts of the brain take up acetylcholine in people with dystonia. Eligibility: Adults at least 18 years old who have DYT1 dystonia or cervical dystonia. Healthy adult volunteers. Design: Participants will be screened with a medical history, physical exam, and pregnancy test. Study visit 1: Participants will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain. The MRI scanner is a metal cylinder in a strong magnetic field that takes pictures of the brain. Participants will lie on a table that slides in and out of the cylinder. Study visit 2: Participants will have a positron emission tomography (PET) scan. The PET scanner is shaped like a doughnut. Participants will lie on a bed that slides in and out of the scanner. A small amount of a radioactive chemical that can be detected by the PET scanner will be given through an IV line to measure how the brain takes up acetylcholine. ...

The investigators have developed a simple to use device that facilitates the monitoring of the upper eyelids motion, acquires the eyelid vertical movement and enables analysis and graphic presentation of the results. the device system consists 3 components : glasses for the patient including magneto sensitive probes, hardware and dedicated software. Our purpose is to characterize eyelid motion in normal population. The methods include measuring each patient 10 minutes during watching a short movie.

The purpose of this prospective, participant-blinded trial is to determine the changes in sleep architecture in a cohort of subjects who have undergone deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for treatment of movement disorders such as moderate to advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), tremor, or dystonia. Our preliminary observational data suggest that unilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS improves subjective sleep quality in PD patients 6 months after the procedure. The cause of this improvement in sleep quality is unknown, and this study proposes the use of polysomnography (PSG) to test whether the improvement in sleep is independent of improvement in night-time mobility associated with DBS treatment of the motor symptoms of PD, tremor, or dystonia.

This study will explore the risks and causes of Parkinson's disease, a chronic progressive nervous system disorder. Patients typically have tremors, muscle weakness and a shuffling gait. Patients with Parkinson's disease, their relatives and healthy volunteers may be eligible for this study. Candidates must be 18 years of age or older. Patients whose parkinsonism is due to a secondary cause, such as infection or injury, and healthy volunteers who have a first degree family member (parent, grandparent, child, sibling) with Parkinson's disease are excluded from enrollment. Participants are asked about possible symptoms they may have and about their general health. They provide a blood sample to obtain DNA for genetic analysis to look for genetic differences that might be related to risks for Parkinson's disease. White blood cells may be treated in the laboratory to grow a cell line, which provides a source of substances in the blood without having to draw samples repeatedly.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been approved for treatment of dystonia by the FDA under a humanitarian device exemption (HDE) status. DBS has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of a variety of diseases such as Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. It has been widely used for the treatment of primary and secondary dystonia as well. Surgery involves the placement of the DBS electrode in one or two of the deep nuclei constituting the basal ganglia. A subcutaneous thoracic or abdominal implantable pulse generator is placed and connected to the intracranial electrode. Pulsatile stimulation of the deep brain nuclei has been shown to result in significant improvement in many patients, including restoration of the ability to walk or make voluntary arm movements. A major difficulty with DBS is the accurate placement of the electrode. Adult patients are usually awakened during surgery and micro electrode recordings are used to determine the optimal electrode effectiveness and monitor for side effects. This requires the patient to be awake and cooperate, while on the operating table. When DBS is performed in children, such testing is often not possible because the children are scared or not cooperative when awakened during surgery, the procedure is most often done for Dystonia, which does not respond immediately, and dystonia may cause involuntary movements that could be dangerous in the operating room while the child's brain is exposed. As part of the routine clinical evaluation of target location in the operating room or Neuromodulation Unit, stimulation is performed using the deep brain or depth electrodes, typically at frequencies between 60hz and 185hz. For this research study, stimulation will occur at much lower frequencies, between 9hz and 20hz in order to be able to measure how electrical activity from the deep electrodes spreads to other electrodes or the scalp. As part of the research, peripheral nerves will also be stimulated at the wrist and knee at frequencies of 20hz to 150hz in order to measure the transmission of peripheral nerve stimulation to these areas of the brain. The investigators hope these additional studies will allow discovery for mechanisms that lead to movement disorders including dystonia, and that knowledge of these mechanisms will allow the investigators to develop new, safer, and more effective treatments in the future.

This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase IV trial , comparing HMS 90® versus placebo (soy protein) as add-on (adjuvant) therapy in subjects with idiopathic Parkinson's Disease. The principal objective is to evaluate the changes in biomarkers of oxidative stress and,plasma amino acids, as well as improvement of clinical symptoms and brain function

The problems in motor activity associated with Parkinson's disease are still poorly understood. Patients with Parkinson's disease often suffer from extremely slow movements (bradykinesia) which result in the inability to perform complex physical acts. Imaging studies of the brain have provided researchers with information about the specific areas in the brain associated with these motor difficulties. One particular area involved is the surface of the brain called the cerebral cortex. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique that can be used to stimulate brain activity and gather information about brain function. It is very useful when studying the areas of the brain related to motor activity (motor cortex, corticospinal tract, and corpus callosum). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) involves the placement of a cooled electromagnet with a figure-eight coil on the patient's scalp and rapidly turning on and off the magnetic flux. This permits non-invasive, relatively localized stimulation of the surface of the brain (cerebral cortex). The effect of magnetic stimulation varies, depending upon the location, intensity and frequency of the magnetic pulses. Researchers plan to study the therapeutic effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on complex motor behavior of patients with Parkinson's disease. In order to measure its effectiveness, patients will be asked to perform complex tasks, such as playing the piano while receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Subjects will be secured and rotated in a whole body gyroscope, similar to a flight trainer for astronauts. The rotations will be in many directions and the speed will be at 90 deg/sec. The effects of this rotation on the ability to stand upright will be measured.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the blood brain barrier in the striatum of patients that have other types of movement disorders compared to patients with Parkinson's Disease that are receiving similar treatment, to determine if a there is a disruption of the blood brain barrier in patients with Parkinson's Disease.

This is a study of subjects with the St. Jude Medical Infinity deep brain stimulation (DBS) system who undergo an MRI imaging procedure. Enrollment may occur before DBS implant, or when an MRI scan is planned in a subject with an existing implant. There will be a follow-up visit one month after the MRI procedure to document any adverse events and verify device functionality.