EEG and EMG Studies of Hand Dystonia

Completed

Conditions studied: Focal Dystonia

In brief

This study will examine how the brain operates during execution and control of voluntary movement and what goes wrong with these processes in disease. It will use electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) to compare brain function in normal subjects and in patients with focal hand dystonia. In dystonia, involuntary muscle movements, or spasms, cause uncontrolled twisting and repetitive movement or abnormal postures. Focal dystonia involves just one region of the body, such as the hand, neck or face. EEG measures the electrical activity of the brain. The activity is recorded using wire electrodes attached to the scalp or mounted on a Lycra cap placed on the head. EMG measures electrical activity from muscles. It uses wire electrodes placed on the skin over the muscles. Adult healthy normal volunteers and patients with focal hand dystonia may be eligible for this study. Patients will be selected from NINDS's dystonia patient database. Participants will sit in a semi-reclining chair in a darkened room and be asked to move either their right index finger, right foot, or the angle of their mouth on the right side at a rate of one movement every 10 seconds. Brain and muscle activity will be measured during this task with EEG and EMG recordings.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00025701

Run by

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

People needed

75

Starts

2001-10-09

Expected to finish

2010-10-04

Last updated by the study team

2017-07-02

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 80. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may not qualify if…

• Healthy subjects: abnormal neurological exam or history of past neurological disease.
• Dystonia patients: the presence of a second neurological disease or condition; abnormal neurological findings on exam that are not related to their focal hand dystonia.
• For MRI studies, patients with metallic implants will be excluded to remove potential risks from this procedure.
• For MRI purposes, women who are pregnant are excluded from this part of the protocol. Therefore, all women of childbearing potential will have a pregnancy test performed prior to prospective MRI studies, which must be negative, before proceeding.
• For TMS studies, healthy volunteers or focal hand dystonia patients who have a pacemaker, an implanted medical pump, a metal plate or metal object in the skull or eye (for example, after brain surgery), or who have a history of seizure disorder will be excluded from the trial.

Where it is running

• National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike — Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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