Effects of Music Therapy on Huntington's Disease
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00178360 |
Recruitment Status :
Completed
First Posted : September 15, 2005
Last Update Posted : August 22, 2011
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
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Huntington's Disease | Behavioral: Music Therapy | Phase 1 |
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 Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
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 : | July 2004 |
Actual Primary Completion Date : | December 2008 |
Actual Study Completion Date : | June 2010 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
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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.
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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:
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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.
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- To examine the feasibility and tolerability of a treatment program of MT for subjects with HD. [ Time Frame: End of Study ]
- To determine if MT improves the mood and motor features of HD while improving quality of life. [ Time Frame: End of study ]

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
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

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00178360
United States, New York | |
University of Rochester Medical Center | |
Rochester, New York, United States, 14642 |
Principal Investigator: | Frederick J Marshall, MD | University of Rochester |
Publications of Results:
Responsible Party: | OJ Sahler, Professor, University of Rochester |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT00178360 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
10336 |
First Posted: | September 15, 2005 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | August 22, 2011 |
Last Verified: | August 2011 |
Huntington's Disease, Music Therapy, quality of life |
Huntington Disease Basal Ganglia Diseases Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Nervous System Diseases Dementia Chorea Dyskinesias |
Movement Disorders Heredodegenerative Disorders, Nervous System Neurodegenerative Diseases Genetic Diseases, Inborn Cognition Disorders Neurocognitive Disorders Mental Disorders |