Clinical Evaluation of HRV Biofeedback in Functional Neurological Disorders Compared to Placebo

NCT ID: NCT06422819

Last Updated: 2024-09-19

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

31 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-09-09

Study Completion Date

2027-05-31

Brief Summary

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Evaluation of the clinical effects of the Heart Rate Variability biofeedback training with patients suffering from Functional neurological Disorders compared with placebo.

Detailed Description

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Although Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) represent one of the most common reasons for consultation in Neurology, the pathological mechanisms remain unexplained. Recent studies suggest disrupted emotional processes in patients with FND and disturbed autonomic nervous system profiles, highligting the hypothesis of autonomic endophenotypes among the FND population.

The Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRV-BFB) is an innovative and non-invasive approach, based on the self-regulation of autonomic physiological processes. It has shown promising results in clinical and non-clinical populations but has never been assessed in an adult FND population.

Therefore, this approach appears particularly promising for understanding the mechanisms underlying FND and developing personalized therapy.

The main objective is to investigate the clinical effects of HRV-BFB on FND patients compared to placebo in a single-blind crossover design.

The investigators predict that depending on their autonomic profile, patients will respond to HRV-BFB to varying degrees.

Firstly, patients with FND will prospectively undergo an comprehensive clinical evaluation considering symptoms, functional capacity, quality of life, and an assessment of the physical and psychological comorbidities. Then patients will complete an emotional task and undergo multimodal autonomic measures. Cluster analyses will be conducted to identify both dysfunctional and functional autonomic profiles associated with the clinical exploration, enabling confirmation of the endophenotypes hypothesis and allowing for specific characterization of the profils. The clinical evaluation of the beneficial effects of HRV BFB will rely on repeated mesures of symptoms, functional capacity, and quality of life at scheduled points in time before and after the both interventions (HRV-BFB and pseudo-BFB). The emotional task and autonomic measures will be repeated simultaneously.

Conditions

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Functional Neurological Disorder

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

This study consists of 5 visits (V1, V2, V3, V4, V5). At V1, participants will be randomized into two groups: HRV-BFB (experimental group) or Pseudo HRV-BFB (control group). Participants will remain single-blinded after randomization. Depending on the assigned group, participants will practice one specific intervention during the first 30-day period (V1-V2). At V2, participants will switch to the other arm and practice the second intervention during the second 30-day period (V2-V3). At V3, both interventions will end, and participants will be unblinded and encouraged to continue HRV-BFB at home. Clinical evaluation will be repeated 5 times at day 1 (V1), days 30 +/- 10 (V2), days 60 +/- 10 (V2), 6 months (V4) and 1 year (V5). The research team will exercise extreme caution to ensure consistent instructions and feedback, minimizing biases associated with lack of double-blinding.
Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants
The participants won't be informed of the condition to which they belong. A debriefing will be done at the end of the last intervention (V3) for each participant.

Study Groups

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Experimental group (HRV-BFB training)

Participants assigned to the experimental group will undergo HRV Biofeedback training using the Inner Balance Coherence Plus® software. This software incorporates a Bluetooth plethysmograph ear sensor, which will transmit cardiac pulse data to the Inner Balance Coherence Plus smartphone app, where the EmWave Pro® Plus software will extract HRV in real-time. This software will display the participant's HRV-BFB curve on their smartphone. The installation of the program and necessary instructions for its use will be provided at the first visit (V1). Fractional training sessions of 8 minutes will be recommended, twice daily for 30 days (during the period V1-V2 or the period V2-V3). Respiratory instructions will differ between the two interventions. During the HRV-BFB intervention, participants will be instructed to maximize their HRV.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Heart rate variability Biofeedback [HRV-BFB]

Intervention Type OTHER

Biofeedback (BFB), sometimes referred to as "biological feedback technique," is a non-invasive and non-pharmacological approach based on physiological recordings that provide real-time feedback enabling people to learn how to control their physiological processes, which are typically unconscious and beyond their control. HRV-BFB specifically targets heart rate variability (HRV), which can help regulate the autonomic nervous system (including vagal tone and sympathetic-parasympathetic balance) as well as emotional states. HRV-BFB has been clinically and experimentally validated as a physiological intervention and has demonstrated its effectiveness. However, it has never been studied in an adult FND population.

Placebo Control group (Pseudo HRV-BFB training)

Participants assigned to the placebo group will undergo a pseudo HRV Biofeedback training using the same Inner Balance Coherence Plus® software and ear sensor. The software will similarly display the participant's HRV-BFB curve on their smartphone. The installation of the program and necessary instructions for its use will be provided at the first visit (V1). To manage placebo effects, the same fractional training sessions of 8 minutes will be recommended, twice daily for 30 days (during the period V1-V2 or the period V2-V3). Respiratory instructions will differ between the two interventions. During the placebo pseudo BFB training, participants will be instructed to no have specific effect on HRV.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Pseudo HRV-BFB

Intervention Type OTHER

The pseudo HRV-BFB intervention aims to implement the same HRV BFB methods with no specific effect on HRV.

Interventions

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Heart rate variability Biofeedback [HRV-BFB]

Biofeedback (BFB), sometimes referred to as "biological feedback technique," is a non-invasive and non-pharmacological approach based on physiological recordings that provide real-time feedback enabling people to learn how to control their physiological processes, which are typically unconscious and beyond their control. HRV-BFB specifically targets heart rate variability (HRV), which can help regulate the autonomic nervous system (including vagal tone and sympathetic-parasympathetic balance) as well as emotional states. HRV-BFB has been clinically and experimentally validated as a physiological intervention and has demonstrated its effectiveness. However, it has never been studied in an adult FND population.

Intervention Type OTHER

Pseudo HRV-BFB

The pseudo HRV-BFB intervention aims to implement the same HRV BFB methods with no specific effect on HRV.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) diagnosis must be medically established
* Participants must have a smartphone (android ou Iphone)
* Participants must be of the age of majority
* Participants must have signed an informed consent
* Sufficiently fluent in French to understand study documents and instructions
* Consistency in performing repeated questionnaires
* Normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity

Exclusion Criteria

* Specially protected participants: juveniles, pregnant womens, nursing mothers, law's protection peoples
* Participants suffering from a severe psychiatric disease needing specialised attention
* History of severe neurosurgical pathology
* Alcohol dependence or drug use
* Participants suffering from or have suffered from a severe disease causing autonomic dysfunctions (heart failure, asthma, blood disease, renal failure, peripheral neuropathy, vagotomy, thyroid disorder, alcoholism, liver disease, amyloidosis)
* Participants taking medication which could be impact autonomic nervous system activity (anticholinergic, antiarrhythmics, clonidine, beta-blockers, tricyclic anti-depressants, metronidazole)
* Participants placing under judicial or administrative supervisions
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

70 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Dang Khoa Nguyen

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Université de Montréal's affiliated hospital research centre

Locations

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Université de Montréal's affiliated Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM)

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Canada

Central Contacts

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Jasmine Carlier, PhD student

Role: CONTACT

514-890-8000 ext. 28404

Dang Khoa Nguyen, Pr

Role: CONTACT

514-890-8000 ext. 28404

Facility Contacts

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Jasmine Carlier, MD

Role: primary

(+33)680891913

Dang Khoa Nguyen, Md, PhD, Pr

Role: backup

H2X 0C1 ext. 28404

References

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Heart rate variability: standards of measurement, physiological interpretation and clinical use. Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. Circulation. 1996 Mar 1;93(5):1043-65. No abstract available.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 8598068 (View on PubMed)

Lehrer P, Kaur K, Sharma A, Shah K, Huseby R, Bhavsar J, Sgobba P, Zhang Y. Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Improves Emotional and Physical Health and Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2020 Sep;45(3):109-129. doi: 10.1007/s10484-020-09466-z.

Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 32385728 (View on PubMed)

Laborde S, Mosley E, Thayer JF. Heart Rate Variability and Cardiac Vagal Tone in Psychophysiological Research - Recommendations for Experiment Planning, Data Analysis, and Data Reporting. Front Psychol. 2017 Feb 20;8:213. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00213. eCollection 2017.

Reference Type RESULT
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Reference Type RESULT
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Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF 3rd, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4.

Reference Type RESULT
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Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 1853955 (View on PubMed)

Loas G, Otmani O, Verrier A, Fremaux D, Marchand MP. Factor analysis of the French version of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Psychopathology. 1996;29(2):139-44. doi: 10.1159/000284983.

Reference Type RESULT
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Reference Type RESULT
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Boucsein W, Fowles DC, Grimnes S, Ben-Shakhar G, roth WT, Dawson ME, Filion DL; Society for Psychophysiological Research Ad Hoc Committee on Electrodermal Measures. Publication recommendations for electrodermal measurements. Psychophysiology. 2012 Aug;49(8):1017-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2012.01384.x. Epub 2012 Jun 8.

Reference Type RESULT
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Reference Type RESULT
PMID: 16612227 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

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http://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/98561

Radloff LS. The CES-D scale: a self report depression scale for research in the general population. App Psycho Meas 1977;1:384-401.

http://search.worldcat.org/fr/title/A-User%27s-Manual-for-the-Occupational-Self-Assessment-(OSA)-:-(Version-2.2)/oclc/475547618

Kathi Baron 2006 A User's Manual for the Occupational Self Assessment (OSA) : (Version 2.2)

http://www.em-consulte.com/article/1100188/traduction-en-francais-du-%C2%A0brief-illness-perceived

C Demoulin 2017. Traduction en français du " Brief Illness Perceived Questionnaire " adapté aux patients lombalgiques et étude de ses qualités métrologiques. Doi : 10.1016/S1169-8330(16)30511-7

http://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/smq/2004-v29-n1-smq755/008831ar/

Daniel Paquette 2004. Validation de la version française du CTQ et prévalence de l'histoire de maltraitance. DOI: 10.7202/008831ar

Other Identifiers

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2024-12156

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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