Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Laryngeal Dystonia

June 27, 2026 updated by: Kátia Monte-Silva, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

This randomized clinical trial with a crossover design aims to investigate the effects of neuromodulation through repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to patients diagnosed with laryngeal dystonia. Participants will undergo three experimental conditions: (1) rTMS alone, (2) rTMS combined with speech-language therapy, and (3) sham rTMS combined with speech-language therapy. The order of the conditions will be randomized. Each phase of the protocol will consist of five consecutive sessions.

Outcomes will include acoustic vocal quality parameters, perceptual-auditory voice assessment, self-ratings of vocal effort, smoothed cepstral peak prominence measures, and global perceived change following the intervention. It is expected that the study will contribute to a better understanding of the effects of the intervention on vocal outcomes, supporting the optimization and standardization of therapeutic protocols for laryngeal dystonia.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

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 Contact

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults (≥18 years) of any sex with a confirmed diagnosis of laryngeal dystonia
  • Participants not undergoing botulinum toxin treatment at the time of the intervention
  • Ability to provide informed consent
  • Ability to complete all study assessments and intervention procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Other forms of dystonia
  • Vocal fold lesions
  • Vocal fold paralysis
  • Contraindications to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
  • Inability to complete study assessments or intervention procedures

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
Experimental: Active rTMS
Participants will receive active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) alone, delivered according to the study protocol, without concurrent speech-language therapy.
Device: Active rTMS
Active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) delivered using a magnetic stimulator according to the study protocol.
Experimental: Active rTMS + Speech-Language Therapy
Participants will receive active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with speech-language therapy, administered according to the standardized intervention protocol.
Device: Active rTMS
Active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) delivered using a magnetic stimulator according to the study protocol.
Device: Speech-Language Therapy
Standardized speech-language therapy focused on voice rehabilitation delivered by a licensed speech-language pathologist according to the study protocol.
Sham Comparator: Sham rTMS + Speech-Language Therapy
Participants will receive sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with speech-language therapy. Sham stimulation will mimic active rTMS without delivering therapeutic magnetic stimulation.
Device: Speech-Language Therapy
Standardized speech-language therapy focused on voice rehabilitation delivered by a licensed speech-language pathologist according to the study protocol.
Device: Sham rTMS
Sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) delivered using a sham stimulation procedure designed to mimic active rTMS without delivering therapeutic magnetic stimulation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Acoustic Voice Parameters Assessed Using VoxMetria® and FonoView® Software
Time Frame: through study completion, an average of 6 months
Acoustic voice parameters will be assessed using VoxMetria and FonoView software during sustained vowel phonation and connected speech tasks. The analysis will include F0 standard deviation (F0 SD), F0 variability, semitone variability, jitter, cepstral peak prominence smoothed (CPPS), voiced time, and unvoiced time. Each parameter will be analyzed separately and reported as the change from baseline to post-intervention.
through study completion, an average of 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Vocal Effort Assessed by the Borg Category Ratio 10 Scale for Vocal Effort
Time Frame: through study completion, an average of 6 months
Vocal effort will be assessed using the Borg Category Ratio 10 Scale for Vocal Effort. Scores range from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no vocal effort and 10 indicates maximum vocal effort. Higher scores indicate worse perceived vocal effort.
through study completion, an average of 6 months
Patient Global Impression of Change Assessed by the Patient Global Impression of Change Scale
Time Frame: through study completion, an average of 6 months
Global perceived change will be assessed using the Patient Global Impression of Change Scale. Scores range from 1 to 7, where 1 = very much worse and 7 = very much improved. Higher scores indicate greater perceived improvement.
through study completion, an average of 6 months
Voice-Related Quality of Life Assessed by the Voice-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (Brazilian Portuguese Version - QVV)
Time Frame: through study completion, an average of 6 months
Voice-related quality of life will be assessed using the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) questionnaire, validated for Brazilian Portuguese (QVV). Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better voice-related quality of life.
through study completion, an average of 6 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Perceptual-auditory voice assessment
Time Frame: through study completion, an average of 6 months
Perceptual-auditory evaluation of voice quality performed by trained raters, based on standardized speech and sustained vowel tasks.
through study completion, an average of 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Nathália Suellen Valeriano Cardoso Cardoso, UFPE - nathalia.suellen@ufpe.br

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 (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 20, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 27, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • rTMS_Laryngeal_Dystonia

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

No

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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