An interventional study of rTMS (Repetitive TMS) and Speech training in Stuttering, Adult, sponsored by The University of Hong Kong. Status unknown at 1 site in Hong Kong. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-11-08.
Sponsored by The University of Hong Kong · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The project is leading to investigate the effects of neuromodulation techniques on speech fluency among adults who stutter (AWS). While stuttering is responsive to a variety of treatments in childhood, this is not the case for AWS. Behavioural treatments to reduce stuttering for adults typically consist of speech restructuring methods, which involves the person using one of the altered speech patterns known to increase fluency, such as chorus reading, speaking in rhythm, and prolonging (smoothing/stretching out) speech sounds. Research has shown that behavioural interventions such as these change brain activation patterns in the regions associated with stuttering. Unfortunately, around 70% of AWS who receive these speech restructuring treatments do not maintain the benefits in the longer term and frequently re-present to speech clinics. The aim of this proposed research is to explore whether the brain stimulation using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can consistently enhance effects of behavioural stuttering therapy by examining their responsiveness to the treatment across different outcome measures including a) immediate effect on different speaking contexts, and b) the maintenance of effects over one week after therapy.
74 studies on the registry are indexed under Stuttering; 23 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 18 is below the median of 44 across 57 interventional studies indexed under Stuttering.
Browse Stuttering studies →The University of Hong Kong is the lead sponsor of 1,292 studies on the registry; 348 are open to participants now.
Of its 9 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
The rTMS group will receive 30 minutes of excitatory rTMS (i.e., 60 trains of 10 Hz pulses for 5 second with over 120% of motor threshold) over SMA combined with speech training (for 25 seconds during the 60 inter-train intervals) for five sessions
Device: rTMS (Repetitive TMS) · Behavioral: Speech training
The sham group will receive 30 minutes of sham rTMS (no magnetic stimulation) over SMA combined with speech training (for 25 seconds during the 60 inter-train intervals) for five sessions.
Behavioral: Speech training
TMS stimulation produce electromagnetic pulses that can directly changes the neural firing in the brain. The rTMS applies the magnetic pulses in a repetitive manner, and can induce either an inhibitory or excitatory effect on cortical neurons. In this study we use high frequency rTMS (10 Hz) to provide the excitatory effect.
The behavioural training will include reading sentences in which a syllable is spoken in time to a rhythmic beat.
Stuttering severity
The stuttering severity will be measured by Stuttering severity instrument-4 (SSI-4)
Time frame: Immediately and one week after the treatment block
Treatment satisfaction
For the assessment of subject satisfaction regarding the treatment, the following two Likert-type survey questions will be asked at weeks 1 post-treatment, to which the participants will respond: (1) How much do you think the treatment helped you to speak more fluently? (1 = not at all, 2 = a little, 3 = somewhat, 4 = a lot, 5 = totally); and (2) How often/much do you think the treatment helped you to feel less stressed in your communication? (1 = never or not at all, 2 = rarely or a little, 3 = sometimes or somewhat, 4 = often or a lot, 5 = always or totally).
Time frame: one week after the treatment block
Plan to share: Yes
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Oct 2022 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Sep 2023, 11 months after the start.
Of 37 interventional studies with no phase under Stuttering, half reached primary completion within 28 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 38. This study's planned 11 months is below that.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is status unknown, as verified in Nov 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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