Brain Stimulation to Treat Blepharospasm or Meige Syndrome
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00411255. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
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Official title
Blepharospasm and the Experimental Modulation of Cortical Excitability in Primary and Secondary Motor Areas. A Pilot Study.
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
This research study will examine whether magnetic or electrical stimulation of the brain can improve the involuntary closure of the eyelids in patients with blepharospasm or Meige syndrome; conditions that belong to a group of neurological disorders called dystonias. Blepharospasm and Meige syndrome cause excessive involuntary closure of the eyelids or blinking. In an earlier study of patients with writer's cramp, which is another form of dystonia, symptoms improved temporarily with brain stimulation. Interested people 18 years of age or older with blepharospasm or Meige syndrome may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history, physical examination and a blink reflex test. Participants undergo brain stimulation and evaluations before and after the stimulation to test the response, as follows: Procedures * Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): A wire coil is held on the patient's scalp. A brief electrical current is passed through the coil, creating a magnetic pulse that stimulates the brain. The subject hears a click and may feel a pulling sensation on the skin under the coil. There may be a twitch in the muscles of the face, arm or leg. The subject may be asked to tense certain muscles slightly or perform other simple actions. The effect of TMS on the muscles is detected with small metal disk electrodes taped to the skin of the arms or legs. TMS is done on eight of the ten test days. * Repetitive TMS (rTMS): The same procedure as TMS, except repeated magnetic pulses are delivered in short bursts. RTMS is done on eight of the ten test days. * Theta burst stimulation (TBS): A form of rTMS that involves short bursts of impulses. TBS is done on four study days. * Cathodal transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS): Two conductive-rubber electrodes placed in saline-soaked sponges are positioned over two areas of the head. A constant weak electrical current flow is applied for 20 minutes. tDCS is done on two study days. Evaluations * Physician observation: The subject's eyes are videotaped for 5 minutes before and after each TMS session. A physician then counts how many times the subject blinked during the 5 minutes. * Questionnaire: Subjects are asked to rate their symptoms before and after brain stimulation. * Electrophysiological test of the blink reflex: Wires are taped to the skin on the nose and temple to record the eye movement during blinking. A thin plastic rod is placed on the skin over the right e...
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT00411255
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Enrollment
- 22 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Jun 21, 2006
- Primary completion
- Apr 6, 2009
- Completion
- Apr 6, 2009
- Last update posted
- Jul 1, 2017
2006 – 2009
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), 9000 Rockville | Bethesda | Maryland | 20892 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00411255, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Jul 1, 2017 · Synced Sep 10, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT00411255 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.