Deep Brain Stimulation in Patients With Dystonia (STN DBS)

February 12, 2019 updated by: University of California, San Francisco

Subthalamic Nucleus (STN) Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in Patients With Dystonia

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN)for primary dystonia.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Dystonia is an uncommon brain disorder in which there is abnormal muscle tone producing twisting, writhing movements and abnormal postures. It is associated with abnormal electrical activity in two groups of nerve cells in the brain called the globus pallidus internus (GPi) and the subthalamic nucleus (STN). Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been shown to be an effective treatment in patients with medically refractory dystonia and is currently approved for both the GPi and STN targets under a humanitarian device exemption (HDE) for use in segmental and generalized primary dystonia as well as focal cervical dystonia. GPi DBS appears to be effective for medication-refractory focal and segmental dystonia affecting the cranial and cervical regions in open-label series, but recently GPi stimulation has been associated with subtle motor disturbances in previously non-dystonic body regions (i.e., arms and legs) in this population of patients. DBS of the STN has also been reported to be effective for treating generalized and cervical dystonia in small open label trials. STN DBS for cranial and cervical regions may provide similar efficacy in the treatment of dystonia as GPi DBS, but without unwanted stimulation-induced motor effects. Objectives of this study are to evaluate the safety and efficacy of STN DBS for dystonia. Up to twenty-five patients will be screened, consented, and enrolled in this study. All patients will undergo bilateral STN DBS for dystonia. Participants will be evaluated pre- and postoperatively with standard dystonia rating scale Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS), and a patient questionnaire will be administered postoperatively to determine if patients are experiencing stimulation-induced motor adverse effects and will be logged for safety monitoring. This pilot study will provide preliminary open label efficacy outcomes for STN DBS in the treatment of primary dystonia and will help determine if this target should be compared to GPi DBS in a larger double-blind trial.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
9

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94143
        • University of California, San Francisco
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94121
        • San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

7 years to 80 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Refractory primary dystonia diagnosed by a movement disorders neurologist
  • Severe functional impairment despite optimal medical management, including failed botulinum toxin therapy
  • Age 7-80 years (UCSF patients) and 18-80 (VA patients)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients considered at high risk for elective neurosurgery because of co-morbid conditions
  • Brain MRI showing extensive brain atrophy or small vessel ischemic disease
  • Pregnancy
  • Inability to tolerate awake microelectrode-guided neurosurgery
  • Inability to follow up with post-operative study visits
  • Inability to speak or read English
  • Patients with a score of 4.5 or lower on the BFMDRS movement scale
  • Patients with Secondary dystonia

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Other: Treatment
Deep Brain Stimulation
Device: Medtronic implantable deep brain stimulation (DBS) system
surgical placement of deep brain stimulation system for treatment of dystonia

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The Toronto Western Spasmodic Rating Scale (TWSTRS) Movement Scores Measured Before DBS Surgery (Baseline) and at 12 Months
Time Frame: Baseline and 12 months
Total TWSTRS score range is 0-88, where higher score indicates worse symptoms. Values are calculated by baseline minus 12 month, where higher difference score of change between baseline and 12 months means better outcome (more improvement)
Baseline and 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, San Francisco

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jill Ostrem, M.D., University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2008

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 7, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 14, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 16, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 19, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 12, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Private donor

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Yes

IPD Plan Description

De-identified data may be shared with research collaborators.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

De-identified data may be available after results have been published, indefinitely.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Research collaborations accepted by study investigators

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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