View clinical trials related to Parkinson's Disease.
Filter by:In the course of their disease, most patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) face mounting mobility deficits, including difficulties with walking, balance, posture and transfers. This frequently leads to (fear of) falls, injuries, loss of independence, and inactivity which causes social isolation and increases the risk of osteoporosis or cardiovascular disease. These mobility deficits are difficult to treat with drugs and neurosurgery. However, physiotherapy is deemed effective in improving mobility deficits in PD. Physiotherapy is widely prescribed for this purpose in the Netherlands. Yet, the efficiency of current "usual care" physiotherapy can be questioned, for two reasons. First, the referral process seems inadequate because patients are mainly referred by neurologists who often lack insight into the (im-)possibilities of physiotherapy for PD. Consequently, patients with a real need for physiotherapy are not always referred (undertreatment), whereas others without a real need are (overtreatment). Furthermore, most therapists treating PD patients are not specifically trained in treating these patients. This is not surprising because average therapists rarely treat more than two patients per year in their practice. Therefore, patients who are being referred probably receive suboptimal treatment. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether the efficiency of physiotherapeutic care for patients with Parkinson's disease can be improved, at a reduced cost, by targeting two key elements of the current care system: a) inadequate referral by neurologists; b) suboptimal treatment by physiotherapists. We expect that optimal referral combined with expert treatment will increase the efficiency, as reflected by increased health benefits for patients at equal or reduced costs'.
In Parkinson's Disease, the mitochondrial membranes in cells that produce dopamine become damaged by oxidants, leading to the death of these cells and progressive tremor, slowness of movement and the loss of neurons in the substantia nigra (a part of the brain that is involved in movement). Mitoquinone is targeted to reach the membrane of mitochondria and provide protection from damaging oxidants. There are no treatments currently available to slow the progression of PD and this trial will help advance the development of this unique disease modifying drug. This trial will enroll 120 participants with untreated early onset of PD. Participants will be randomized to receive 1 of 3 treatments: 40 mg of MitoQ tablets, 80 mg of MitoQ tablets or placebo. The researchers, participants and sponsor will all be blinded to the treatment allocation. Participants will be assessed after 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 months of treatment and again 28 days after their last dose. The effectiveness of the trial drug will be measured via the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). The safety of the trial drug will be monitored via regular participant examinations, blood tests, ECG and collecting information on adverse events.
Glaucoma is a worldwide leading cause of blindness. The key feature of this ocular neuropathy is characterized by an excavating optic nerve head. Loss of retinal ganglion cells is the final end point in blinding diseases of the optic nerve such as glaucoma. It is known that neuronal cell death in glaucoma occurs by an apoptotic mechanism. In earlier studies the investigators could demonstrate that the process of apoptosis is reflected in circulating leukocytes by different parameters, like differential mRNA expression and an increased fragmentation of the DNA. Such alterations point out a relationship between cellular stress and apoptotic events. Based on the results of mRNA-expression the investigators also expect alterations on the protein level. This study is, therefore, designed to characterize the proteome related to the proteins involved in cell death related pathways. Thus, the expression pattern of several proteins in leukocytes from patients with primary open angle glaucoma will be analyzed by techniques like Western-blot and tandem mass spectrometry. These samples will be compared with samples from healthy controls. In addition, they will also be compared with samples from patients with Parkinson's disease. Since glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease, these patients will be included as positive controls in this study.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the US, affecting nearly 1 million Americans. Up to 82% of community dwelling individuals with PD complain of sleep disturbances, typically sleep fragmentation. Despite the high prevalence of sleep problems and their impact on the life of these individuals, there has been, until recently, little research focus on the problem. This will be a multi-site, double blind, placebo-controlled, two arm, parallel group, fixed-dose trial which will last 6 weeks. Seventy patients at four sites (30 at the PI's site and a total of 40 patients at three external sites) will be equally randomized to eszopiclone or placebo. The primary hypothesis is that eszopiclone will be superior to placebo for the treatment of insomnia in patients with Parkinson's disease
The purpose of this study is (1) to determine if patient triggered sensory(auditory, visual and tactile) cues can help treat freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease, and (2) to assess if unexpected (randomized) cues are more effective than anticipated ones.
The purpose of this study is to gather data to see if the Laser Cane and/or U-Step Walker with laser accessory is more effective in aiding with gait freezing than a regular cane/U-Step Walker in patients who have idiopathic Parkinson's disease.
We propose to build on preliminary data evaluating non-dopaminergic/non-motor clinical biomarkers to more fully assess these markers at the threshold of Parkinson disease (PD). Development of reliable biomarkers for both dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic manifestations of Parkinson disease (PD) and related disorders may dramatically accelerate research on PD etiology, pathophysiology, and therapeutics. Biomarkers are broadly defined as characteristics that are objectively measured and evaluated as indicators of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention. Specific biomarkers may be useful at the onset of neurodegeneration, the onset of disease, and/or to mark disease progression.
The primary purpose of the study is to investigate the anti-dyskinetic effect of several doses of sarizotan in Parkinson patients in order to generate information on the dose-response relationship (dose-finding).
To determine if yoga is beneficial in improving physical function quality of life and medical status in people with Parkinson's disease
The study is designed to measure the efficacy and safety of levetiracetam on levodopa-induced dyskinesias in late-stage Parkinson's disease. The patients are planned to be treated with levetiracetam (up to 2000 mg per day) or placebo for 13 weeks. Efficacy measure is the modified AIMS.