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Deep Brain Stimulation for Laryngeal Dystonia: From Mechanism to Optimal Application

Deep Brain Stimulation for Laryngeal Dystonia: From Mechanism to Optimal Application

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05506085
Enrollment
12
Registered
2022-08-18
Start date
2022-10-01
Completion date
2030-08-01
Last updated
2026-08-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Adductor Spastic Dysphonia of Dystonia, Laryngeal Dystonia

Keywords

deep brain stimulation

Brief summary

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure used to treat tremors, and dystonia. This study will enroll people who have a form of focal dystonia that affects their vocal cords called Adductor Laryngeal dystonia (ADLD). Participants will undergo Deep Brain Stimulation surgery to treat laryngeal dystonia as part of their clinical care. Before surgery, as part of the study they will have specialized testing to study the movement of the vocal cords, as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). While in the operating room, researchers will examine brain waves to better understand how faulty brain firing patterns lead to dystonia. After surgery, and activation of the deep brain stimulator, participants will repeat speech testing and vocal cord imaging as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Interventions

DEVICEDeep Brain Stimulation

Deep Brain Stimulation of Globus Pallidus interna

Sponsors

Indiana University
Lead SponsorOTHER
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patients with ADLD and ADLD plus tremor, as diagnosed by routine clinical examination by laryngologist, speech language pathologist, and neurologist. * Patients undergoing globus pallidus interna (GPi) deep brain stimulation (DBS) for ADLD with tremor * Age range of 18-80 years * Native speakers of American English will be recruited since there are known differences in voice and neural signals of native and non-native speakers * No evidence for dementia as assessed by neurologist. * No evidence for severe untreated mood disorder as assessed by neurologist, or as evident on self-report (Beck Depression Inventory-II score \> 29, Beck Anxiety Inventory Score \> 26. * At least 3 months since last botulinum toxin injection and the patients would need to be fully symptomatic with no residual effects of botulinum toxin on voice quality.

Exclusion criteria

* Individuals younger than 18 years and older than 80 years of age. * Women who plan to become pregnant during the study period or are currently breastfeeding. * Prior history of stroke, brain surgery, or other neurological disorder besides the one under study. * Prior laryngeal framework surgeries or other disorders affecting the vocal folds * Patients who are asymptomatic due to treatment with botulinum toxin into the vocal folds. * Presence of ferromagnetic implants and cardiac implants that would be contraindicated to MRI * Gagging or discomfort that would preclude the placement of the endoscope to visualize the larynx * Dementia, severe depression or severe anxiety. * Any clinical condition or medication judged by the investigators to potentially preclude the patient from safely completing awake brain surgery and research protocols.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in total number of Vocal fold movementsBefore surgery, within 24 hours after surgery, 6 -9 months after surgeryVocal fold movements will be quantified (vibratory breaks + micromotions+ aperiodicities) using high-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) on sustained phonation of the vowel, words, and sentence production. The videoendoscopic recording will be obtained
Change in Acoustic voice recordingsBefore surgery, within 24 hours after surgery, 6-9 months after surgeryAcoustic voice recordings will be obtained using a microphone. Acoustic measurement of voice (voicing percentage) will be obtained from sustained phonation of the vowel /a/, sentences and reading a paragraph.
Microelectrode recordingduring surgeryMicroelectrode recording is performed routinely during DBS (Deep brain stimulation) surgery. The study procedure will be to record voice simultaneously on sustained phonation of the vowels, syllables, and sentences using the data acquisition system NI USM 6221 with a microphone and high-speed videoendoscopy. Beta and theta band power spectral density will be analyzed as measurements.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Neuropsychological testing: Trails ABefore surgery, and 6-9 months after surgeryNeuropsychological testing will be obtained pre (standard of care for DBS surgery) and 6 months post DBS surgery (experimental) to evaluate psychomotor speed
Change in Neuropsychological testin: Trails BBefore surgery, and 6-9 months after surgeryNeuropsychological testing will be obtained pre (standard of care for DBS surgery) and 6 months post DBS surgery (experimental) to evaluate mental flexibility
Change in Neuropsychological testing: Controlled Oral Word Association Animal fluencyBefore surgery, and 6-9 months after surgeryNeuropsychological testing will be obtained pre (standard of care for DBS surgery) and 6-9 months post DBS surgery (experimental) to evaluate verbal fluency
Change in Resting state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)before surgery and 6-9 months after surgeryResting state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-FMRI)
Change in Voice Handicap Indexbefore surgery and 6-9 months after surgeryA 30-point questionnaire to describe the voice and the effects of voice on their daily lives. The scores range from 0 to 120. 0 to 30 is a low score with minimal handicap and 61 to 120 is considered severe handicap, 31 to 60 moderate handicap
Change in Speech Intelligibilitybefore surgery and 6-9 months after surgerywill be computed from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sentences of the Rainbow passage as the number of correct words identified.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTRita Patel, PhD
patelrir@iu.edu8128553886
CONTACTS. Elizabeth Zauber, MD
szauber@iupui.edu317-963-7437
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORRita Patel, PhD

Indiana University

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORS. Elizabeth Zauber, MD

Indiana University

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORKunal Gupta, MD, PhD

Indiana University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 15, 2026