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TerminatedNCT02321566Updated Feb 18, 2019

Motor Cortex Stimulation for the Treatment of Chronic Facial, Upper Extremity, and Throat Pain.

A Phase 1 interventional study of Epidural Motor Cortex Stimulation in Trigeminal Neuralgia (Burchiel Type I), Trigeminal Neuralgia (Burchiel Type II) and Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain, sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. Terminated at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-02-18.

Sponsored by Johns Hopkins University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
Device manufacturer no longer supports implant covered under the IDE.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
1
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

This study is an open-label study to determine the feasibility of Motor Cortex Stimulation (MCS) in the treatment of patients with chronic pain of the face or upper extremity. MCS will be delivered by use of an electrode and pulse generator, which are FDA approved for spinal cord stimulation but are not approved for MCS. The study has as a single-arm design with the subject at baseline serving as a control for the response to MCS.

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Conditions studied

  • Trigeminal Neuralgia (Burchiel Type I)
  • Trigeminal Neuralgia (Burchiel Type II)
  • Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain
  • Trigeminal Deafferentation Pain
  • Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (Types I and II, Involving the Upper Extremity)
  • Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia
  • Upper Extremity Pain Due to Deafferentation of the Cervical Spine
  • Central Pain Syndromes
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In context

Trigeminal Neuralgia

135 studies on the registry are indexed under Trigeminal Neuralgia; 44 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 1 is below the median of 40 across 92 interventional studies indexed under Trigeminal Neuralgia.

Browse Trigeminal Neuralgia studies →

Lead sponsor

Johns Hopkins University is the lead sponsor of 1,783 studies on the registry; 313 are open to participants now.

Of its 203 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 140 (69%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Males and females who are greater than 18 years of age.
  2. Subject has a diagnosis of chronic pain involving the face, upper extremity, or throat, as determined by a review of medical records, history and physical examination. The types of chronic pain eligible for the study are:

    1. Facial pain, including trigeminal neuralgia Type 1, trigeminal neuralgia Type 2, trigeminal neuropathic pain, trigeminal deafferentation pain, symptomatic trigeminal neuralgia, and postherpetic neuralgia.
    2. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (Types I and II) involving the arm.
    3. Both chronic and episodic forms of refractory Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia (GN).
    4. Deafferentation of the cervical spine leading to pain of the upper extremity.
    5. Central pain syndromes resulting from a prior cerebrovascular insult occurring at least 5 years prior to the study.
  3. Subject determined to be treatment-resistant for at least one year prior to the Screening Visit as demonstrated by clinical evidence (determined by review of medical records and discussion with referring pain specialist, anesthesiologist, or neurologist treating chronic pain). The patient must not have responded to treatment with three adequate regimens of medication including one in each of the following categories: antiepileptic drugs, opioids, and antidepressant medications. The trial period for each medication should be at least four weeks, and the two trials must be within the previous 5 years.
  4. Subject has at least a score of 6 on the Visual Analog Scale of Pain at all three clinic visits prior to undergoing surgery.
  5. Subject must be ambulatory.
  6. Females who are postmenopausal, physically incapable of childbearing, or practicing an acceptable method of birth control. Acceptable methods of birth control include surgical sterilization, hormonal contraceptives, or double-barrier methods (condom or diaphragm with a spermicidal agent or intrauterine device [IUD]). If practicing an acceptable method of birth control, a negative urine pregnancy test result has been obtained at baseline Visits 1 and 2.
  7. Subject is assessed by psychologist with respect to i) the role of psychological factors, including psychological comorbidities, in their chronic pain, ii) their ability to rate pain and make decisions during the extraoperative stimulation trial, and iii) to participate in decision-making capacity to provide informed consent.
  8. Subject is able to read English, understand and cooperate with study procedures, and has signed a written informed consent form prior to any study procedures.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Subject had major surgery within three months prior to Baseline Visit 1 or has other surgery planned during the proposed study period.
  2. Subject is determined by medical consultant to have medical contraindications to undergoing surgery.
  3. Subject is pregnant or breast-feeding.
  4. Subject has a history of alcohol or drug abuse within the past 6 months and dependence within the past year.
  5. Subject has a medical illness/condition, co-morbid psychiatric illness, and/or abnormal diagnostic finding that would interfere with the completion of the study, confound the results of the study, or pose risk to the patient.
  6. Subject has a diagnosis of mental retardation.
  7. Subject has a distinct neurological condition not included in the list of chronic pain syndromes studied in this protocol, or a history of traumatic brain injury associated with loss of consciousness of > 1 hour and/or intracranial/epidural/subdural bleeding.
  8. Diagnosis of a somatoform pain disorder.
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Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
1 participant (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Treatment Arm

    A craniotomy will be performed for the placement of an epidural motor cortex stimulation lead in the context of subjects with chronic facial, upper extremity, and throat pain. If the stimulation is successful during a trial period with externalized lead cabling, the system cabling will be internalized and connected to an internal implantable pulse generator to power and control the system for the duration of the trial.

    Device: Epidural Motor Cortex Stimulation

Interventions

  • DeviceEpidural Motor Cortex Stimulation
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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain Assessments

    As measured by the VAS scale of Pain Intensity and Unpleasantness, the McGill Pain questionnaire, and the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Signs and Symptoms

    Time frame: 58 weeks after trial entry

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Study locations

1 site
  • The Johns Hopkins Hospital
    Baltimore, Maryland 21287, United States
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 18, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02321566
Lead sponsor
Johns Hopkins University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 22, 2014
Start date
Feb 2015
Primary completion
Nov 21, 2017
Completion
Nov 21, 2017
Last update
Feb 18, 2019

Study contacts

Frederick A Lenz, MD, PhD
principal investigator · Johns Hopkins University
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is terminated, as verified in Feb 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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