Effects of Music Therapy on Huntington's Disease

Sponsor

University of Rochester (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT00178360

Collaborator

(none)

Enrollment

Location

Arms

Duration (Months)

0.2

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is primarily to assess the ability of a music therapy program to improve holistically the psychological, somatic, and social symptoms of patients with Huntington 's disease (HD). We hope to demonstrate the benefits of applying music therapy interventions to the management methods of HD, thus paving the way for the development of an effective music therapy program for individuals with HD.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Huntington's Disease	Behavioral: Music Therapy	Phase 1

Detailed Description

ABSTRACT

Background: Recent studies show that music therapy helps improve the symptomatic manifestations of Parkinson's Disease. Few studies have looked at music therapy as a treatment for the psychiatric, cognitive and motor symptoms of patients with Huntington's disease (HD).

Objective: To examine the feasibility and tolerability of a treatment program of music therapy for patients with Huntington's disease. Also, to determine if music therapy improves the mood and motor features of HD while improving quality of life.

Methods: Subjects with HD were recruited to participate in a six-week study that included one individual, half-hour music therapy session and one hour-long group session per week. The music therapy protocols were adapted from the Colorado State University's Neurological Music Therapy program and were targeted to HD symptoms including balance and posture, fine motor skills, memory and attention, vocalizations, and mood. In particular the protocols included Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS), Pattern Sensory Enhancement (PSE), and Therapeutic Instrumental Music Playing (TIMP). Primary outcome of tolerability was to be assessed by the subjects' adherence to the therapeutic protocol, attendance, and the results of an exit survey inquiring about their feelings toward the use of music therapy in HD. A secondary outcome of the study was the change in the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) score between baseline and study completion.

Results: Five subjects were recruited for study participation (one female and four males). Music therapy was found to be a tolerable and feasible treatment for patients with HD (100% adherence and 98% attendance). Exit surveys demonstrated strongly positive feelings towards the music therapy treatment program in four of the five subjects (one survey was completed with contradictory answers by the subject). While there was improvement in UHDRS scores for finger tapping, pronation/supination and the Luria, these changes did not achieve statistical significance with the small sample size in this study.

Conclusions: Music therapy was well tolerated among subjects with HD in this small study. Future studies are now being planned to look at the efficacy of this intervention in a larger population of HD subjects.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

11 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Crossover Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Official Title:

The Effects of Music Therapy on Depression, Chorea and Other Symptoms of Huntington's Disease

Study Start Date :

Jul 1, 2004

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Dec 1, 2008

Actual Study Completion Date :

Jun 1, 2010

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Music Therapy Subject will participate in one, individual, half-hour long music therapy session every other week and one hour-long group music therapy session each month, for a period of three months.	Behavioral: Music Therapy During individual Music Therapy sessions, subjects will participate in a variety of active music-making opportunities, including: playing musical instruments, singing, improvising, learning relaxation techniques, song writing, and/or lyric analysis. The activities for each session will be determined by both subject and therapist, and will be selected based on preference, emotional state, and desired goals for the day. Group music therapy sessions will focus on improving socialization, depression, and group dynamics. In this setting, the Music Therapist will choose from the following interventions: Group singing Group drumming Music assisted relaxation Group song writing Lyric analysis Improvisation Music with art
No Intervention: Standard Care During the Standard Care time period, participants will continue to receive all of the medical care that they would normally receive for the treatment of Huntington's Disease, without the addition of music therapy services.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: Music Therapy

Subject will participate in one, individual, half-hour long music therapy session every other week and one hour-long group music therapy session each month, for a period of three months.

Behavioral: Music Therapy

During individual Music Therapy sessions, subjects will participate in a variety of active music-making opportunities, including: playing musical instruments, singing, improvising, learning relaxation techniques, song writing, and/or lyric analysis. The activities for each session will be determined by both subject and therapist, and will be selected based on preference, emotional state, and desired goals for the day. Group music therapy sessions will focus on improving socialization, depression, and group dynamics. In this setting, the Music Therapist will choose from the following interventions: Group singing Group drumming Music assisted relaxation Group song writing Lyric analysis Improvisation Music with art

No Intervention: Standard Care

During the Standard Care time period, participants will continue to receive all of the medical care that they would normally receive for the treatment of Huntington's Disease, without the addition of music therapy services.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

To examine the feasibility and tolerability of a treatment program of MT for subjects with HD. [End of Study]

Secondary Outcome Measures

To determine if MT improves the mood and motor features of HD while improving quality of life. [End of study]

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years and Older

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Inclusion Criteria:

Diagnosis of HD
Over the age of 18
Patients must be ambulatory, use of a walker or human support is acceptable
Patients must be able to communicate their thoughts and feelings

Exclusion Criteria:

Anyone without the preceding characteristics

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	University of Rochester Medical Center	Rochester	New York	United States	14642

Sponsors and Collaborators

University of Rochester

Investigators

Principal Investigator: Frederick J Marshall, MD, University of Rochester

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Additional Information:

Publications

None provided.

Responsible Party:

OJ Sahler, Professor, University of Rochester

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT00178360

Other Study ID Numbers:

10336

First Posted:

Sep 15, 2005

Last Update Posted:

Aug 22, 2011

Last Verified:

Aug 1, 2011

Keywords provided by OJ Sahler, Professor, University of Rochester

Huntington's Disease, Music Therapy, quality of life

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Huntington Disease

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Aug 22, 2011