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Noninvasive Brain Stimulation for Cervical Dystonia (NetworkStim)

14 september 2026 bijgewerkt door: Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico

The Effect of Noninvasive Brain Stimulation on Symptoms of Cervical Dystonia

The primary aim of this study is to assess whether continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) can be helpful in reducing symptoms of idiopathic cervical dystonia. This will be a parallel-group, randomised, sham-controlled, double blind clinical trial. Patients and investigators measuring patient symptoms clinical scales will be blinded from allocation group, investigators delivering the intervention will not be blinded, as this is not feasible. Real cTBS will be compared to sham cTBS, with patients allocated to these two groups with a 1:1 recruitment ratio.

Bilateral cTBS will be delivered four times daily, over eight days, for a total of 32 bilateral cTBS sessions. The primary outcome is the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS). This will be administered at T1 (pre-cTBS), T2 (day 10, following days 2-9 where patients received the intervention), T3 (2 weeks post the final session of cTBS), and T4 (4-5 weeks post the final session of cTBS).

Secondary outcomes will be the TWSTRS subscales (severity, disability, pain), Quality of Life scale, Global dystonia severity rating scale (GDS), Fahn Tolosa Marin (FTM) modified (to include only questions relevant to head/neck tremor) tremor scale, kinematic data of patient's movement patterns, motor evoked potentials (MEPs), and resting-state fMRI data (fMRI).

Studie Overzicht

Toestand

Werving

Conditie

Interventie / Behandeling

Gedetailleerde beschrijving

Cervical dystonia (CD) is the most common form of dystonia and is characterised by excessive and involuntary muscle contractions of the muscles in the neck. Whilst botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injections to the affected muscles can provide therapeutic relief to CD patients, up to one-third of patients report an inadequate response to treatment. In more severe cases, deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus interna (GPi) or subthalamic nucleus is an effective treatment for CD symptoms, directly and indirectly modulating networks thought to be abnormal in CD. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) trials have previously been conducted to investigate its potential to ameliorate CD symptoms. These studies have shown limited success, with small sample sizes, and variable results. A major factor limiting the more effective use of TMS in CD is that it is not yet known where to target with TMS, given the many structures implicated in the neurobiology of the disorder. A prior study using lesion network mapping in CD attempted to address this issue by localising a brain network connected to lesions causing CD. Corp, et al. demonstrated that although causal lesions were located throughout the brain, all lesions were functionally connected to a brain network involving positive connectivity to the cerebellum and negative connectivity to the somatosensory cortex (S1). Preliminary work from our group examined the effect of targeting this lesion network mapping-derived S1 cluster using TMS. First, a single session of continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) to the S1 indicated target engagement, as demonstrated by abnormal metabolic response in CD patients, and next, a pilot trial of 10 days of daily cTBS demonstrated a 12% reduction in CD symptoms. The primary aim of this study is to assess whether a higher-dose of (4x daily) cTBS can increase therapeutic effect.

Studietype

Ingrijpend

Inschrijving (Geschat)

26

Fase

  • Niet toepasbaar

Contacten en locaties

In dit gedeelte vindt u de contactgegevens van degenen die het onderzoek uitvoeren en informatie over waar dit onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd.

Studiecontact

Studie Contact Back-up

Studie Locaties

Deelname Criteria

Onderzoekers zoeken naar mensen die aan een bepaalde beschrijving voldoen, de zogenaamde geschiktheidscriteria. Enkele voorbeelden van deze criteria zijn iemands algemene gezondheidstoestand of eerdere behandelingen.

Geschiktheidscriteria

Leeftijden die in aanmerking komen voor studie

  • Volwassen
  • Oudere volwassene

Accepteert gezonde vrijwilligers

Nee

Beschrijving

Inclusion Criteria

  • Aged between 18 and 85 years
  • Diagnosis of idiopathic cervical dystonia made by an expert physician
  • Last botulinum toxin injection administered at least two months before the start of participation in the study (Albanese, Abbruzzese et al. 2015)

Exclusion Criteria

  • Head or neck trauma occurring less than 12 months before the onset of dystonia
  • Acquired dystonia (e.g., drug-induced, brain lesions or trauma)
  • History of major psychiatric disorders (e.g., bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder)
  • History of neurological diseases other than CD (e.g., epilepsy, Parkinson's disease)
  • Other contraindications for TMS or brain MRI (e.g., metal in the head)
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • History of substance abuse or dependence

Studie plan

Dit gedeelte bevat details van het studieplan, inclusief hoe de studie is opgezet en wat de studie meet.

Hoe is de studie opgezet?

Ontwerpdetails

  • Primair doel: Behandeling
  • Toewijzing: Gerandomiseerd
  • Interventioneel model: Parallelle opdracht
  • Masker: Dubbele

Wapens en interventies

Deelnemersgroep / Arm
Interventie / Behandeling
Experimenteel: Active cTBS
The patients of this group will receive 4 sessions of bilateral somatosensory cortex cTBS per day for 8 days
Apparaat: Active continuous theta-burst stimulation
Continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) will be delivered using a Magstim Rapid machine connected to a 70mm cooled coil at 80% of a participants resting motor threshold (RMT). cTBS will consist of three-pulse bursts at 50Hz repeated every 200ms (5Hz) for 40 seconds (600 pulses total) (Huang, Edwards et al. 2005). All cTBS procedures will be conducted bilaterally, with application first over the left hemisphere, before moving to the right (approximately one minute will separate each hemisphere). Bilateral cTBS will be delivered four times daily, over eight days, for a total of 32 bilateral cTBS sessions. This 4x day protocol will follow prior studies in neglect patients, delivered at time intervals of 0, 15, 60, and 75 minutes (Nyffeler, Cazzoli et al. 2008, Cazzoli, Müri et al. 2012, Nyffeler, Vanbellingen et al. 2019).
Sham-vergelijker: Sham cTBS
The patients of this group will receive 4 sessions of bilateral somatosensory cortex cTBS per day for 8 days, delivered using a sham TMS coil.
Apparaat: Sham continuous theta-burst stimulation
Sham cTBS procedures will be identical to those in the active cTBS arm but applied using a 70mm sham TMS coil.

Wat meet het onderzoek?

Primaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Symptoms of cervical dystonia - Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale total score
Tijdsspanne: For a single patient, a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks
The total score on the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale. Range: 0-85. Higher scores mean worse symptoms.
For a single patient, a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks

Secundaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Motor evoked potentials
Tijdsspanne: For a single patient, 10 days. Pre and post cTBS
Motor evoked potential amplitudes from input-output curves, measured using surface electromyography
For a single patient, 10 days. Pre and post cTBS
Magnetic resonance imaging
Tijdsspanne: For a single patient, 10 days. Pre and post cTBS
Functional connectivity changes from pre-defined regions of interest in the brain
For a single patient, 10 days. Pre and post cTBS
Symptoms of cervical dystonia - Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale subscales
Tijdsspanne: For a single patient, a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks
The scores on each of the subscales of the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (severity, disability, pain). Higher scores mean worse symptoms.
For a single patient, a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks
Symptoms of cervical dystonia - kinematic recordings
Tijdsspanne: For a single patient, 10 days. Pre and post cTBS
Metrics of patients' head and neck movements from a wearable motion sensor. Higher scores will mean greater movement error.
For a single patient, 10 days. Pre and post cTBS
Fahn Tolosa Marin tremor scale
Tijdsspanne: For a single patient, a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks
Measurement of head and neck tremor. Higher scores mean worse symptoms.
For a single patient, a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks
Global dystonia severity rating scale
Tijdsspanne: For a single patient, a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks
Measurement of dystonia in all body parts. Range: 0-100. Higher scores mean worse symptoms.
For a single patient, a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks

Medewerkers en onderzoekers

Hier vindt u mensen en organisaties die betrokken zijn bij dit onderzoek.

Sponsor

Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico

Medewerkers

European Commission

Onderzoekers

  • Hoofdonderzoeker: Vincenzo Di Lazzaro, MD, Campus Bio-Medico Hospital

Studie record data

Deze datums volgen de voortgang van het onderzoeksdossier en de samenvatting van de ingediende resultaten bij ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieverslagen en gerapporteerde resultaten worden beoordeeld door de National Library of Medicine (NLM) om er zeker van te zijn dat ze voldoen aan specifieke kwaliteitscontrolenormen voordat ze op de openbare website worden geplaatst.

Bestudeer belangrijke data

Studie start (Werkelijk)

6 juli 2026

Primaire voltooiing (Geschat)

6 mei 2028

Studie voltooiing (Geschat)

6 mei 2028

Studieregistratiedata

Eerst ingediend

26 juni 2026

Eerst ingediend dat voldeed aan de QC-criteria

26 juni 2026

Eerst geplaatst (Werkelijk)

2 juli 2026

Updates van studierecords

Laatste update geplaatst (Werkelijk)

17 september 2026

Laatste update ingediend die voldeed aan QC-criteria

14 september 2026

Laatst geverifieerd

1 november 2025

Meer informatie

Termen gerelateerd aan deze studie

Trefwoorden

Aanvullende relevante MeSH-voorwaarden

Andere studie-ID-nummers

  • NetworkStim 270.25 CET2 cbm

Plan Individuele Deelnemersgegevens (IPD)

Bent u van plan om gegevens van individuele deelnemers (IPD) te delen?

JA

Beschrijving IPD-plan

For patients who provide informed consent: pseudonymised MRI data will be uploaded to the 'OpenNeuro' repository, and pseudonymised brain stimulation data and code will be uploaded to the 'Big NIBS data' repository, with the associated clinical scores

IPD-tijdsbestek voor delen

The Study Protocol, SAP, and ICF will be made available with this pre-registration prior to study commencement. Generated participant data and code will be available after the pre-print of the publication describing it are released. There is no time limit for how long the data will be made available.

IPD-toegangscriteria voor delen

Public access as per the terms of clinicaltrials.gov and the OpenNeuro and Big NIBS data repositories.

IPD delen Ondersteunend informatietype

  • LEERPROTOCOOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

Informatie over medicijnen en apparaten, studiedocumenten

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd geneesmiddel

Nee

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd apparaatproduct

Nee

Deze informatie is zonder wijzigingen rechtstreeks van de website clinicaltrials.gov gehaald. Als u verzoeken heeft om uw onderzoeksgegevens te wijzigen, te verwijderen of bij te werken, neem dan contact op met register@clinicaltrials.gov. Zodra er een wijziging wordt doorgevoerd op clinicaltrials.gov, wordt deze ook automatisch bijgewerkt op onze website .

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