Dystonia Treatment With Injections Supplemented By Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (D-TWIST)

September 16, 2024 updated by: University of Florida
We applied 16 sessions of rTMS over 4 consecutive days for adult patients suffering from cervical dystonia who received botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections on a regular basis. The TMS protocol took place 9 weeks following their last BoNT injection. The primary outcome measure was improvement in cervical dystonia as measured by the TWSTRS scale. The secondary outcome measures included mood, cognition, and gait measures.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This was a crossover study design in which patients were randomized to active or sham stimulation during session 1 (S1) and then crossed over to the condition they were not randomized to at first during session 2 (S1). Patients who were receiving BoNT injections for cervical dystonia on a regular basis but only noted benefit from BoNT for 9 weeks or less were eligible to participate. The total study protocol took place over 24 weeks. During week 1, patients had their regularly scheduled botox injections. During week 9, patients underwent either active or sham rTMS, as detailed below. They had outcome measures obtained at week 9 (S1:T0; baseline/pre-TMS), week 10 (S1:T1; post-TMS), and week 12 (S1:T2; 2 weeks post-TMS). At week 12, they underwent their regularly scheduled BoNT injections. During week 21, patients underwent either active or sham rTMS, whichever condition they were not randomized into during the first session. They then had outcome measures obtained at week 21 (S2:T0; baseline/pre-TMS), week 22 (S2:T1; post-TMS), and week 24 (S2:T2; 2 weeks post-TMS).

The neurostimulation protocol was as follows: The dPMC target was defined as 1 cm medial and 2 cm anterior to the site of RMT acquisition. The rTMS protocol was as follows: each session consisted of 1-Hz rTMS over the dPMC for 30 minutes (1800 pulses) at 90% of the RMT. Patients received 4 sessions per day for 4 consecutive days with a 10-minute break between each session. The daily duration of the rTMS protocol, including breaks, lasted approximately 160 minutes.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

5

Phase

  • 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

    • Florida
      • Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32608
        • University of Florida Health Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases

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

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 81 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • patients 18-85 years of age who receive regular botulinum toxin (BoNT) scheduled every 12 weeks, on stable optimized doses but with reported benefits lasting ≤ 9 weeks for 2 consecutive cycles. Patents followed at our center routinely fill out a self-reported form to document the duration of benefits perceived with BoNT therapy. Participants will be allowed to continue oral medications that they are taking for dystonia concurrently but will not be allowed to change their concurrent medication regimen throughout the duration of the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of metallic objects or neurostimulators in the brain
  • Pregnancy
  • History of active seizures or epilepsy
  • Patients with severe scoliosis or other gait impairment that will preclude them from participating in gait evaluation.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Active rTMS
Active rTMS will use a figure of eight TMS coil that will deliver real neurostimulation pulses to the patients.
repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a painless, noninvasive form of neurostimulation. This study uses an accelerated protocol in which the neurostimulation pulses are delivered in 4 sessions per day over 4 consecutive days (16 total sessions). Active or sham rTMS will be provided at 9 weeks following botox injections.
Other Names:
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Sham Comparator: Sham rTMS
Sham rTMS will use a sham figure of eight TMS coil that sounds and looks like a real rTMS coil, except no neurostimulation is being delivered to the patient.
repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a painless, noninvasive form of neurostimulation. This study uses an accelerated protocol in which the neurostimulation pulses are delivered in 4 sessions per day over 4 consecutive days (16 total sessions). Active or sham rTMS will be provided at 9 weeks following botox injections.
Other Names:
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS)
Time Frame: Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
This is an objective scale evaluating patients on a variety of features including maximal excursion, duration, effects of sensory trick, shoulder elevation, range of motion, and time. Scores range from 0 to 85 where a higher score indicates more severity.
Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)
Time Frame: Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
This is a 21-question survey evaluating depression in patients on a 0 to 3 scale, with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score 63, and higher score indicating a higher level of depression.
Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
Trail-Making Test: Part A
Time Frame: Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
Patients are instructed to connect circles in ascending numerical order and are scored on how quickly they are able to complete the task. A longer amount of time indicates more severe cognitive impairment (in general, more than 78 seconds to complete Part A is considered impaired).
Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
Trail-Making Test: Part B
Time Frame: Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
Patients are instructed to connect circles in ascending numerical order and are scored on how quickly they are able to complete the task. A longer amount of time indicates more severe cognitive impairment (in general, more than 273 seconds to complete Part B is considered impaired).
Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) - %Total Errors
Time Frame: Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test is a test of rule-learning and conceptual flexibility. The participant is required to learn to sort a series of cards according to one of three principles (color, form or number) based on response feedback. This measure is computed by calculating the ration of total errors to trials administered and multiplied by 100.
Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) - %Perseverative Errors
Time Frame: Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test is a test of rule-learning and conceptual flexibility. The participant is required to learn to sort a series of cards according to one of three principles (color, form or number) based on response feedback. This measure reflects the "density" of perseverative errors in relation to the overall test performance. It is computed by calculating the ration of total errors to trials administered and multiplied by 100.
Before rTMS (Session 1: Week 9, Session 2: Week 21), Immediately after rTMS (Session 1: Week 10, Session 2: Week 22), 2 weeks after rTMS (Session 1: Week 12, Session 2: Week 24)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jun Yu, MD, MS, University of Florida

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 (Actual)

February 7, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 20, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

January 7, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 20, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 1, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

June 7, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 8, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 16, 2024

Last Verified

September 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB202101156
  • OCR40846 (Other Identifier: UF OnCore)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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.