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Spasticity as Sequela of StrokeNCT04063995

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Post Stroke Upper Limb Spasticity

A study testing Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in people with Spasticity as Sequela of Stroke, run by Izmir Katip Celebi University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The reticulospinal pathway (RSP) is at the center of spasticity mechanism. The RSP indirectly synapses with motor neurons via interneurons in the ventromedial intermediate zone in both halves of the spinal cord, and directly synapses with motor neurons of proximal extremity muscles. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Spasticity as Sequela of Stroke
What is being tested?
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
37 participants
Where
1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
Study dates
9 Sep 2019to 27 Jun 2021
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • ≥ 18 years
  • Stroke history ≥ 1 year
  • Having a first stroke
  • Grade 2 or 3 muscle tone according to the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) assessment in at least one of the elbow, wrist and finger flexors
  • Signed consent to participate in the study

Who cannot join

  • To have a clinical condition (metallic implant, cardiac pace, pregnancy, breastfeeding, claustrophobia, epilepsy, head trauma, cranial operation history) that will constitute a contraindication to transcranial magnetic stimulation
  • Presence of malignancy
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Non-stroke disease or lesion affecting the sensorimotor system
  • Presence of pump/shunt
  • Advanced cognitive impairment
Show all 10Show fewer
  • To have been rehabilitated in the last 3 months
  • Botulinum toxin injection in the last 3 months
  • Taking systemic antispastic drugs (Patients taking these drugs may be included in the study after a period of at least 3 times the half-life of the drug used if they agree to quit)
  • Previously treated with TMS

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Turkey (Türkiye)1 site
  • İlker Şengül

    Izmir, 35360

Other trials in Turkey (Türkiye)

About this study

Official title: Effect of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Over Contralesional Dorsal Premotor Cortex on Post Stroke Upper Limb Spasticity

The reticulospinal pathway (RSP) is at the center of spasticity mechanism. The RSP indirectly synapses with motor neurons via interneurons in the ventromedial intermediate zone in both halves of the spinal cord, and directly synapses with motor neurons of proximal extremity muscles. The main motor cortex region controlling unilateral RSP is the premotor cortex. That is, a single limb is represented in both premotor cortices. This suggests theoretically that if the corticoreticular pathway controlling RSP is modulated by dorsal premotor cortex stimulation, there may be a change in the regulation of the intraspinal network regulating the stretch reflex. Therefore, the hypothesis in this study is that the application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the contralesional dorsal premotor cortex in chronic stroke patients changes the severity of spasticity.

Read the detailed description

Spasticity is a disorder characterized by increase in velocity-related muscle tone as a part of upper motor neuron syndrome. Although the mechanisms underlying stroke-related spasticity have not been fully understood, the current view is that spasticity is related to an imbalance between descending excitatory and inhibitory systems that regulate spinal stretch reflex and associated with abnormal intraspinal processes. The reticulospinal pathway (RSP) is at the center of this mechanism called cortical disinhibition. The dorsal RSP, which has an inhibitory effect on the spinal stretch reflex, originates from the medullary reticular formation and is under cortical control. In contrast to dorsal RSP, medial RSP which is not under the control of motor cortex originates from pontine reticular formation,and has an excitatory effect on spinal stretch reflex. The main motor cortex region controlling unilateral dorsal RSP is the premotor cortex. Unilateral RSP indirectly synapses with motor neurons via interneurons in the ventromedial intermediate zone in both halves of the spinal cord, and directly synapses with motor neurons of proximal extremity muscles. That is, a single limb is represented in both premotor cortices. This suggests theoretically that if the corticoreticular pathway controlling dorsal RSP is modulated by dorsal premotor cortex stimulation, there may be a change in the regulation of the intraspinal network regulating the stretch reflex. Furthermore, in stroke patients with severe motor impairment, the relationship between high cortical centers and the primary motor cortex is more in the form of facilitation rather than interhemispheric inhibition between the primary motor cortices. In other words, stimulation of one side premotor cortex may affect motor impairment and spasticity by affecting primary and high motor cortical centers of both hemispheres and both halves of the spinal cord. Therefore, the hypothesis in this study is that the application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the contralesional dorsal premotor cortex in chronic stroke patients changes the severity of spasticity. Based on this hypothesis, our aim is to investigate the effect of rTMS over the contralesional dorsal premotor cortex on the severity of spasticity in patients with chronic stroke with moderate to severe upper extremity spasticity.

Being tested
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
Keywords
Spasticity, Stroke, Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, Premotor cortex
Medical subject headings
Muscle Spasticity, Stroke

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulationDevice

    Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive intervention that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells to improve the symptoms of a variety of disorders, including stroke-related motor impairment.

Study groups in NCT04063995
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Excitatory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation groupExperimentalOne session of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment with 10 Hz frequency will be applied to the contralesional dorsal premotor cortex. Application will be performed with Neurosoft-Neuro MS / D device. 90% of the motor threshold will be used in the stimulation. Stimulation is planned for a total of 15 minutes and a total of 1500 beats in the form of a 5 seconds 10 Hz stimulation followed by a 25 seconds interval.
Receives: Device: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
Inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation groupExperimentalOne session of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment at 1 Hz frequency will be applied to the contralesional dorsal premotor cortex. Application will be performed with Neurosoft-Neuro MS / D device. 90% of the motor threshold will be used in the stimulation. Stimulation is planned for a total of 25 minutes and a total of 1500 beats in the form of 1 Hz stimulation.
Receives: Device: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
Sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation groupSham comparatorSingle session of sham application for a total of 25 minutes. Sham application will be performed by holding the probe of the device vertically to the vertex. The device will be operated at the lowest operating power of 1 to produce the same stimulation sounds like the active application. The device operating at this power is not likely to give any stimulation due to the probe being held upright.
Receives: Device: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Modified Ashworth Scale

    The modified Ashworth Scale is a scale that clinically evaluates the presence and severity of muscle tone increase. It is an ordinal scale that evaluates spasticity at six levels between 0 and 4 (0, 1, 1+, 2, 3, 4). The severity of spasticity increases as the score increases. Score 0 indicates no increase in muscle tone, while score 4 indicates that the affected part is rigid. Six levels between 0 and 5 (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) will be used in statistical analysis. The score of 1+ will be treated as 2, 2 as 3, 3 as 4 and 4 as 5.

    Measured: Pre-intervention (baseline) and immediately after intervention (post-intervention), up to 45 minutes

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. F wave parameters

    F-wave is one of the late responses caused by antidromic stimulation of alpha motor neurons. It occurs following supramaximal electrical stimulation of peripheral motor nerves following M response. The F wave indicates the transmission from the stimulated point to the motor neuron and back to the recording electrode. Increased F wave frequency, increased F / M ratio and amplitude has been considered to indicate the increased motor neuron excitability.

    Measured: Pre-intervention (baseline) and immediately after intervention (post-intervention), up to 45 minutes

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Aug 2019
  2. Study start9 Sep 2019
  3. Primary completion27 Jun 2021
  4. Study completion27 Jun 2021

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
37 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04063995
Sponsor's protocol ID
2019-KAE-0292
Status last verified
Mar 2022
First submitted
16 Aug 2019
Last updated
1 Apr 2022
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Li S, Francisco GE. New insights into the pathophysiology of post-stroke spasticity. Front Hum Neurosci. 2015 Apr 10;9:192. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00192. eCollection 2015.

    PubMed 25914638
  • Burke D, Wissel J, Donnan GA. Pathophysiology of spasticity in stroke. Neurology. 2013 Jan 15;80(3 Suppl 2):S20-6. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31827624a7.

    PubMed 23319482
  • Lemon RN. Descending pathways in motor control. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2008;31:195-218. doi: 10.1146/annurev.neuro.31.060407.125547.

    PubMed 18558853
  • Baumer T, Bock F, Koch G, Lange R, Rothwell JC, Siebner HR, Munchau A. Magnetic stimulation of human premotor or motor cortex produces interhemispheric facilitation through distinct pathways. J Physiol. 2006 May 1;572(Pt 3):857-68. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2006.104901.

    PubMed 16497712
  • Rossi S, Hallett M, Rossini PM, Pascual-Leone A; Safety of TMS Consensus Group. Safety, ethical considerations, and application guidelines for the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical practice and research. Clin Neurophysiol. 2009 Dec;120(12):2008-2039. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2009.08.016. Epub 2009 Oct 14.

    PubMed 19833552
  • Wassermann EM. Risk and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: report and suggested guidelines from the International Workshop on the Safety of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, June 5-7, 1996. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1998 Jan;108(1):1-16. doi: 10.1016/s0168-5597(97)00096-8.

    PubMed 9474057
  • Bohannon RW, Smith MB. Interrater reliability of a modified Ashworth scale of muscle spasticity. Phys Ther. 1987 Feb;67(2):206-7. doi: 10.1093/ptj/67.2.206.

    PubMed 3809245
  • Wupuer S, Yamamoto T, Katayama Y, Motohiko H, Sekiguchi S, Matsumura Y, Kobayashi K, Obuchi T, Fukaya C. F-wave suppression induced by suprathreshold high-frequency repetitive trascranial magnetic stimulation in poststroke patients with increased spasticity. Neuromodulation. 2013 May-Jun;16(3):206-11; discussion 211. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1403.2012.00520.x. Epub 2012 Oct 24.

    PubMed 23094969
  • Sengul I, Askin A, Altun A, Tosun A. Anti-spastic effect of contralesional dorsal premotor cortex stimulation in stroke patients with moderate-to-severe spastic paresis: a randomized, controlled pilot trial. Acta Neurol Belg. 2023 Aug;123(4):1345-1354. doi: 10.1007/s13760-023-02212-2. Epub 2023 Feb 21.

    PubMed 36809647

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in people with Spasticity as Sequela of Stroke, run by Izmir Katip Celebi University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 10 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 1 Apr 2022. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Modified Ashworth Scale (time frame: Pre-intervention (baseline) and immediately after intervention (post-intervention), up to 45 minutes). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04063995, which also lists 9 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 1 Apr 2022.

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