Active clinical trials for "Dyskinesias"

Objectives: The mechanisms of tardive dyskinesia (TD) remain unclear, although pathophysiologic theories have proposed mechanisms such as dopamine receptor supersensitivity, the degeneration of cholinergic striatal interneurons, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) depletion, and an excess of free radicals. Prior development of second generation antipsychotic agents, tardive movement disorders were widespread among neuroleptics treated patients. There were great expectations of the new novel drugs. Unfortunately, reports about tardive movement disturbances induced by these medications became more and more frequent, although it has been in use for less than two decades. A recent study demonstrated that schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients suffering from TD had the mean level of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) below lower limit of normal range, while those patients without TD had normal values. At the same time, some open and double-blind placebo-controlled, randomized clinical studies showed that vitamin B6 was very effective in treatment of TD. Pyridoxal kinase is a key enzyme for the biosynthesis of PLP, the biologically active form of vitamin B6. Some publications reported that the finding of high vitamin B6 levels is consistent with recent reports of low levels of PLP and low activity of pyridoxal kinase. It may explain the functional need for high-dose vitamin B6 supplementation in subjects with TD. Methods: A multicenter study including 300 schizophrenia and schizoaffective subjects will be performed. The trial will be consisted of 2 parts: the first part a single comparison pyridoxal kinase plasma activity in patients with and without TD; in the second part only TD schizophrenia and schizoaffective patients will continue. It will be a 12-week, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Vitamin B6 (1200 mg/day) or placebo capsules will be added to the stable ongoing antipsychotic treatment of 150 schizophrenia patients. Participants will be assessed at baseline and after every 2 weeks of treatment till week 12. Pyridoxal kinase activity will be compared between patients who positively respond to vitamin B6 versus non responders. In addition, PLP levels will be monitored at baseline and at the end of the study. A battery of research tools will be used for assessment of movement disorders, psychopathology, and side effects. The study will be performed along a period of 2 years.

A short term post-market monitoring of serum prolactin level change among patients with schizophrenia shifting from other antispychotics to different dosages of aripiprazole.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of eltoprazine to treat levodopa-induced dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease

The goal of this study is to challenge the existing clinical practice of employing laparoscopic cholecystectomy as the treatment for gallbladder dyskinesia by comparing it to a regimen of active non-surgical therapy.

Presently no generally effective treatments for tardive dyskinesia (TD) are available. D-serine is a naturally occurring amino acid that acts in-vivo as positive allosteric modulator at the glycine site associated with the glutamatergic NMDA receptor. Previous studies have suggested that D-serine may improve motor symptoms, including dyskinesias, which are caused by treatment with presently used antipsychotics drugs. The hypothesis under investigation in the present study is that D-serine adjuvant treatment may improve TD in schizophrenia patients diagnosed with this disorder.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of aripiprazole in management of pre-existing neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia

Benign gallbladder disease, including acute cholecystitis, chronic cholecystitis, biliary dyskinesia, and biliary colic, is very common, with over 300,000 surgical cholecystectomies performed per year in the US. Unfortunately, complication rates in elderly patients or patients with many comorbidities are high. These patients are often managed with percutaneous tube drainage of the gallbladder (percutaneous cholecystostomy). The recurrence rate of calculous cholecystitis after cholecystostomy tube removal is as high as 35% at 1 year. These patients are thus faced with permanent cholecystostomy tube drainage, high-risk surgery, or cholecystostomy tube removal and risk of repeat cholecystitis. Gallbladder cryoablation is an alternative to surgical cholecystectomy which is performed percutaneously and does not require general anesthesia. Published evidence on the outcomes of gallbladder cryoablation is however limited at this point in time. The purpose of the proposed study is to follow the outcomes of high-risk patients who undergo gallbladder cryoablation.

Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a well-known complication of antipsychotic drug therapy in individuals treated for mental disorders such as schizophrenia. It typically consists of purposeless, involuntary movements involving the mouth area or the trunk and limb muscles, occurring within months or years of drug use. The annual incidence of TD in the population treated with antipsychotic drugs is between 1-5%, but the risk is 5-fold greater in older individuals. Once triggered, TD is often irreversible and untreatable. Its cause is unknown, but an imbalance between chaotic mechanisms triggered by the drugs and natural protective factors fighting against these may provide an explanation. One way to activate this protective response is to supplement the diet with high doses of essential fatty acids of the omega-3 class, which constitute a critical component of nerve cell membranes. Using this strategy, one research team showed a 50% reduction in the severity of TD-like movements in mice treated with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). We hypothesize that DHA supplements can do the same in patients living with schizophrenia displaying TD movements. Forty (40) subjects between 30-75 years of age will be recruited. The participants will be randomized and equally distributed in two groups to take either DHA capsules (3 grams a day) or matching placebo for 12 weeks, after providing informed consent, and TD will be measured with a magnetic tracker system and clinical scales. The finding of a beneficial effect with DHA against TD would improve the quality of life for thousands of patients under long-term antipsychotic drug treatment.

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare disease, caused by impairment of the motile cilia. Patients present with chronic upper and lower respiratory tract infections. The therapy is mainly supportive and based on that of cystic fibrosis. Chest physiotherapy is one of the cornerstones of the therapy, however the influence of chest physiotherapy on lung function (short term and long term) is not clear. For interpretation of longitudinal lung function data it is important to examine the short time effect of chest physiotherapy. We hypothesize that a session of chest physiotherapy improves lung function and that thus lung function tests must be performed in a standardized way.

Previous studies have proposed various ways to assess scapular dyskinesis, but they were impractical in clinical setting or the validity was questioned. The novel scapulometer we developed can measure the prominence of scapular medial border and inferior angle. We would like to examine its reliability and validity in subjects with symptomatic scapular dyskinesis. The long-term, high-intensity, unilateral loading may cause overhead athletes to develop adaptive changes in shoulder kinematics, range of motion (ROM) and strength in the dominant arm. We hypothesized that these changes may be related to scapular dyskinesis. According to the previous studies, we expect electromyography (EMG) biofeedback training can help improve the ratio of muscle activation of scapular muscle.