Dystonia clinical trials at UCSF
3 in progress, 1 open to eligible people

  • The Motor Network in Parkinson's Disease: Mechanisms of Therapy

    open to eligible people ages 21-75

    This is an exploratory pilot study to identify neural correlates of specific motor signs in Parkinson's disease (PD) and dystonia, using a novel totally implanted neural interface that senses brain activity as well as delivering therapeutic stimulation. Parkinson's disease and isolated dystonia patients will be implanted unilaterally or bilaterally with a totally internalized bidirectional neural interface, Medtronic Summit RC+S. This study includes three populations: ten PD patients undergoing deep brain stimulation in the subthalamic nucleus (STN), ten PD patients with a globus pallidus (GPi) target and five dystonia patients. All groups will test a variety of strategies for feedback-controlled deep brain stimulation. Only the STN patients will undergo a blinded, small pilot clinical trial of closed-loop stimulation for thirty days.

    San Francisco, California

  • Chronic Effects of DBS in Parkinson's Disease and Dystonia

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The purpose of this study is to use an investigational device to record brain activity for 12-24 months following surgical implantation of deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems. The goal of the study is better understanding of brain activity in movement disorders and how they relate to DBS, not to bring new devices to market.

    San Francisco, California

  • Use of Interventional MRI for Implantation of Deep Brain Stimulator Electrodes

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    The purpose of this study is to gather observational data on an already FDA-approved implantation technique for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in which the entire surgery is performed within an MRI scanner ("interventional MRI", or iMRI). With this surgical technique, the patient is fully asleep (under general anesthesia) during DBS implantation. The standard method for the placement of deep brain stimulators does not use MRI during the actual DBS placement. The standard method involves placement of a rigid frame on the patient's head, performance of a short MRI scan, transport to the operating room, placement of the DBS electrodes in the operating room, and return to the MRI suite for another MR to confirm correct electrode placement. In the standard method, the patient must be awake for 2-4 hours in the operating room to have "brain mapping" performed, where the brain target is confirmed by passing "microelectrodes" (thin wires) into the brain to record its electrical activity. In the standard method, general anesthesia is not required. With the iMRI technique, the surgery is guided entirely by MRI images performed multiple times as the DBS electrode is advanced. This eliminates the need for the patient to be awake, and eliminates the need for passing microelectrodes into the brain before placing the permanent DBS electrode.

    San Francisco, California

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