Purpose

Task-dependent upper limb tremor is a disorder that frequently impairs patients' function and quality of life. Few studies exist that quantify the improvements in motor performance and disability with botulinum toxin (injections). The study team aims to perform an exploratory pilot trial using toxin Type A (Dysport) in 25 patients with task-dependent upper limb tremor, to refine quantitative measures of performance using blinded video analysis, demonstrate efficacy and tolerability of injections, and provide power calculations for a potential future multi-centered double blinded clinical trial.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 18 Years and 80 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • Patients with task-dependent essential tremor in upper limb. Tremor is present during at least one of the study functional tasks i. pointing task (touch between nose and a pen held 2 ft. in front. ii. pouring task (cup: pouring water out/in). iii. feeding task (weighted fork from plate on table to mouth). iv. string instrument bowing or holding instrument in static position. v. computer mouse (simple vertical or horizontal movements). - Patients must be capable of performing informed consent. - Patients on stable medications for treatment of task-dependent essential tremor for 1 month prior to study entry and maintain them throughout the study. - Patients previously treated with BoNT of any type must have occurred no sooner than 12 weeks prior to study entry.

Exclusion Criteria

  • Patients with no presence of tremor during study functional tasks. - Presence of tremor during the functional task is below minimum amplitude required to be considered for injection based upon investigator's clinical judgment. - Patients with unstable medical conditions or psychiatric conditions. - Patients with a medical condition that precludes them from receiving BoNT injections. - Pregnant women, or premenopausal women not willing to use contraceptive measures throughout the duration of the study. - Lithium, Valproic acid, Amiodarone, typical and atypical neuroleptics. Exposure to other than the listed tremorogenic or potentially tremorogenic drugs is allowed only if, in the opinion of the investigator, this will not interfere with the study drug evaluations.

Study Design

Phase
Phase 4
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Crossover Assignment
Intervention Model Description
Participants are randomized to receive either study drug or placebo at the initial phase and cross over 12 weeks later and receive the alternative treatment
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking Description
Videos will be randomly provided to an outside assessor to determine benefit as a secondary outcome measure

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
Abobotulinum toxin A
  • Drug: Abobotulinum toxin A
    Dosing will be determined at each study visit based upon muscles involved
Placebo Comparator
Placebo
  • Other: Placebo
    Dosing will be determined at each study visit based upon muscles involved

Recruiting Locations

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York 5128581, New York 5128638 10029
Contact:
Mary-Catherine George
212-824-0784
mary-catherine.george@mssm.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
David M. Simpson

Study Contact

Mary-Catherine George
212-241-0784
Mary-Catherine.George@mssm.edu

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.