CompletedNot Applicable

Neurophysiologic Study of Patient With Essential Tremor and Dystonic Tremor

United States2 participantsStarted 2017-04-07

Plain-language summary

Background: Essential tremor is when a person has tremor, but no other neurological symptoms. Dystonic tremor is when a person also has dystonia. Dystonia is a condition in which muscle contraction causes changes in posture. Researchers do not fully know what areas of the brain cause these tremors, or how the types differ. They also do not know what tests can identify the differences. Objective: To look at differences between essential tremor and dystonic tremor. Eligibility: People ages 18 and older with or without tremor Design: Participants will be screened with medical history, physical exam, and urine tests. Those with tremor will complete questionnaires about how tremor affects them. The screening and study visits can be done on the same day or on separate days. Participants will have 1 or 2 study visits. These include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tremor testing. For MRI, participants will lie on a table that slides in and out of a cylinder that takes pictures. Sensors on the skin measure breathing, heart rate, and muscle activity. This takes about 2 hours. Tremor testing will include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electrical stimulation of the fingers, doing a movement task, and recording of tremor movements. For TMS, two wire coils will be held on the scalp and a brief magnetic field will be produced. A brief electrical current will pass through the coils. For the other tests, small sticky pad electrodes will be put on the skin. Participants will move their hand when they hear a sound. They will get weak electrical shocks to their fingers. These tests will take 3-4 hours. Participants can take part in either or both parts of the study.

Who can participate

Age range18 Years – 85 Years

SexALL

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AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.

* INCLUSION CRITERIA Tremor Subjects: * Must be 18 years or older * Fulfill the diagnostic criteria of essential tremor, pure dystonic tremor and tremor associated dystonia, as defined by the Consensus Statement of the Movement Disorder Society on Tremor, 1998. We will recruit patients displaying hand tremors in each group as the follows: * Hand tremor patients in ET group. * Dystonic hand tremor patients in pDT group. * Cervical dystonia (CD) patients or spasmodic dysphonia and hand tremor without clinical evidence of hand dystonia in TAWD group. * Ability to give informed consent. * Ability to comply with all study procedures, based on the judgment by the investigator(s). * Agree to not drink caffeine or alcohol for 48 hours before participating in the protocol. Healthy Volunteers: * Must be 18 years or older * Absence of dystonia or other neurological disorder with any effect on the motor or sensory systems. * Ability to give informed consent. * Ability to comply with all study procedures, based on the judgment by the investigator(s). * Agree to not drink caffeine or alcohol for 48 hours before participating in the protocol. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Patients: * Botulinum toxin treatment \< 3 months prior to visit. * Employees and/or staff of NINDS * Has used illegal drugs within the past 6 months based on history. The intent is to exclude those with drug use that may affect study results. Participants who appear to be intoxicated at the time of testing will be res…

What they're measuring

The various neurophysiological results including the data from TMS experiment, tremor analysis, threshold of temporal discrimination, ballistic movement and MRI experiment. These results will be compared between HVs and patients group.

Timeframe: 2 years

Trial details

NCT IDNCT03041714

SponsorNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Sponsor typeNIH

Study typeOBSERVATIONAL

Primary completion2018-03-22