Studying Motor Neuron Tests
| Status: | Active, not recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Neurology |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Neurology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 35 - 127 |
| Updated: | 12/13/2018 |
| Start Date: | January 9, 2012 |
Structural and Functional Brain Imaging Markers of Upper Motor Neuron Function
Background:
- People with motor neuron disorders have changes in the parts of the brain that control
movement. Some tests that are currently used to study these changes are magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We don t know if MRI scans and TMS
give the same results if done at different times in the same person. Researchers want to see
if these tests produce different results if given to healthy adults on two separate
occasions.
Objectives:
- To test the reliability of different tests of the brain used to study motor neuron
disorders.
Eligibility:
-Healthy individuals at least 35 years of age who have no history of neurological
disorders and take no medications.
-Pregnant women may not participate.
Design:
- Participants will be screened with a medical history and physical exam.
- Participants will have two testing visits 1 to 6 months apart.
- The first visit will have three parts. The first part is a neurological exam to test
strength, sensation, reflexes, and coordination of movement. The second part will be TMS
tests. The third part will involve an MRI scan to study the parts of the brain that
control movement.
- At the second visit, participants will have MRI scanning only.
- People with motor neuron disorders have changes in the parts of the brain that control
movement. Some tests that are currently used to study these changes are magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We don t know if MRI scans and TMS
give the same results if done at different times in the same person. Researchers want to see
if these tests produce different results if given to healthy adults on two separate
occasions.
Objectives:
- To test the reliability of different tests of the brain used to study motor neuron
disorders.
Eligibility:
-
disorders and take no medications.
-
Design:
- Participants will be screened with a medical history and physical exam.
- Participants will have two testing visits 1 to 6 months apart.
- The first visit will have three parts. The first part is a neurological exam to test
strength, sensation, reflexes, and coordination of movement. The second part will be TMS
tests. The third part will involve an MRI scan to study the parts of the brain that
control movement.
- At the second visit, participants will have MRI scanning only.
Objective
The objective of the protocol is to determine the test-retest reliability of imaging
techniques that measure the structural and functional integrity of the motor cortex in
healthy subjects. Our goal is to determine whether such measures are sufficiently
reproducible that they may be used to follow disease progression over time in patients with
motor neuron disease. A second objective is to obtain age-matched normative data to provide
reference values for studies examining the correlation of physiological and clinical
measurements of motor function, cognitive testing, and plasma and spinal fluid biomarker
measures with disease progression in patients with motor neuron disease.
Study Population
55 neurologically normal, healthy adults, age 35 or older
Design
Each subject will undergo several sessions of testing. The first testing session will consist
of a clinical examination with measurements of movement speed. Subjects will undergo one
session with transcranial magnetic stimulation of the brain, one session of cognitive
testing, and three sessions of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, one to eighteen
months apart. Subjects may opt-in for collection of blood and spinal fluid to provide
controls for biomarker studies in motor neuron disease patients.
Outcome Measures
The primary outcome is the test-retest reliability of magnetic resonance imaging measurements
of the motor cortex in individual subjects.
The objective of the protocol is to determine the test-retest reliability of imaging
techniques that measure the structural and functional integrity of the motor cortex in
healthy subjects. Our goal is to determine whether such measures are sufficiently
reproducible that they may be used to follow disease progression over time in patients with
motor neuron disease. A second objective is to obtain age-matched normative data to provide
reference values for studies examining the correlation of physiological and clinical
measurements of motor function, cognitive testing, and plasma and spinal fluid biomarker
measures with disease progression in patients with motor neuron disease.
Study Population
55 neurologically normal, healthy adults, age 35 or older
Design
Each subject will undergo several sessions of testing. The first testing session will consist
of a clinical examination with measurements of movement speed. Subjects will undergo one
session with transcranial magnetic stimulation of the brain, one session of cognitive
testing, and three sessions of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, one to eighteen
months apart. Subjects may opt-in for collection of blood and spinal fluid to provide
controls for biomarker studies in motor neuron disease patients.
Outcome Measures
The primary outcome is the test-retest reliability of magnetic resonance imaging measurements
of the motor cortex in individual subjects.
- INCLUSION CRITERIA:
- Healthy adults aged 35 and older
- No history of a neurological disorder
- Able to give informed consent
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
- Treatment within the preceding week with medications that affect neuronal
excitability, such as antidepressants, sedatives, and drugs for epilepsy or migraine.
- Change in blood pressure medications within the preceding week.
- Metal in the body such as pacemakers, implanted pumps or other implanted electronic
devices, some types of dental implants, aneurysm clips (metal clips on the wall of a
large artery), metallic prostheses (including metal pins and rods, heart valves, and
cochlear implants), permanent eyeliner or shrapnel fragments.
- Pregnancy. Women of childbearing potential will undergo urine pregnancy testing before
MRI scanning.
- Fear of confined spaces.
- Serious medical illness.
- Employees or staff in the investigator's section.
We found this trial at
1
site
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Phone: 800-411-1222
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