Peripheral nerve stimulation for Tremor

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Phase-locked peripheral nerve stimulation for the treatment of Tremor

• IRAS ID

  257850

• Contact name

  H Cagnan

• Contact email

  hayriye.cagnan@ndcn.ox.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Oxford / Clinical Trials and Research Governance

• Duration of Study in the UK

  3 years, 0 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  Summary of Research
  The treatment of tremor with drugs can be unsatisfactory. Here we aim to demonstrate that stimulating a nerve at the wrist with a special pattern can suppress tremor. If successful then this research could pave the way to a non-invasive, non-drug chronic treatment for tremor. We will start by contrasting stimulation with no stimulation in 15 participants with essential tremor and 15 with Parkinson's. The study will take less than two hours to complete

  Summary of Results
  We investigated a non-invasive technique that stimulates nerves in the hand to see if it could help people with Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s disease. In Parkinson’s patients, we discovered that hand tremors can shift between different movement patterns. By stimulating the median nerve at specific moments, we were able to either reduce tremors by 36% or increase them by 117%. Interestingly, when a person’s tremor pattern changed on its own, the effect of the stimulation also changed, depending on its timing. Stimulation induced subtle effects in Essential Tremor.

• REC name

  HSC REC A

• REC reference

  19/NI/0009

• Date of REC Opinion

  22 Jan 2019

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion