Aim 1 over 6 months will demonstrate ASIS device's consistent performance on 60 adult subjects with Cervical Dystonia. Gadolinium will be injected with ASIS subdermally (30) or conventional intramuscularly (30) for these 7 muscle groups: Splenius, Scalene, Sterno-cleido-mastoid, Levator scapulae, Semispinalis, Trapezius, and Longissimus. An MRI will be taken promptly after Gadolinium injection, as starting reference, to which subsequent MRI taken at 6 hrs, 12 hrs, and 24 hrs later will be compared for Persistent %. Since there isn't a way to measure level of Gadolinium within it, or any other (e.g. Botox) for that matter, at least the Prolongation of Gadolinium may be approximated by the greater or longer Persistent % on MRI. However, this approximation can only work if the variables are minimized to the same population with Cervical Dystonia, and these particular 7 muscle groups. Case in point, patients with Cervical Dystonia presumably have hyperactive Splenius, Scalene, Sterno-cleido-mastoid, Levator scapulae, Semispinalis, Trapezius, and Longissimus muscles, so expectantly will have shortened Gadolinium intramuscularly Persistent %, and somewhat reduced Gadolinium subdermally Persistent % as well due to agitation, thus these Persistent % values in Cervical Dystonia patients will not be like those of normal patients, or even the same between these 7 different muscle groups. Therefore, the Relative Prolongation Ability Score or total Persistent % subdermally over total Persistent % intramuscularly, will be specific and valuable indicators to help us modify Botox dosage and duration to inject into "unknown" subdermal bloodless space for Aim 2.
Aim 2 over 12 months, using Botox, instead of Gadolinium, will demonstrate the advantages of ASIS device subdermally over intramuscularly, for the same 60 adult subjects with Cervical Dystonia, on these particular 7 muscle groups: Splenius, Scalene, Sterno-cleido-mastoid, Levator scapulae, Semispinalis, Trapezius, and Longissimus. Hypothetically speaking, if that subdermal bloodless space in patients with e.g., Cervical Dystonia somehow failed to show prolongation of half-life for Gadolinium in Aim 1, we can still proceed with primary interest being therapeutic comparison for Botox in Aim 2, in terms of improvement on the Physician Global Assessment Scale at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 weeks, and reduction in Cervical Dystonia Severity Scale (CDSS) as well as adverse reactions.
