View clinical trials related to Parkinson's Disease.
Filter by:Background: - Previous studies have given researchers information on how the brain controls movement, how people learn to make fine, skilled movements, and why some people have movement disorders. However, further research is needed to learn more about the causes of most movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. - By using small, specialized studies to evaluate people with movement disorders and compare them with healthy volunteers, researchers hope to learn more about the changes in the brain and possible causes of movement disorders. Objectives: - To better understand how the brain controls movement. - To learn more about movement disorders. - To train movement disorder specialists. Eligibility: - Individuals 18 years of age or older who have had a movement disorder diagnosed by a neurologist and are able to participate based on the specific requirements of the small study. - Healthy volunteers 18 years of age or older. Design: - Participants will have a screening visit with medical history, physical examination, and questionnaire to determine eligibility. Eligible participants will give consent to participate in up to seven additional outpatient visits for study procedures. The number of sessions and the procedures needed for participation depend on specific symptoms. - Participants must avoid drinking alcohol or caffeinated drinks (sodas, coffee, and tea) for at least 2 days (48 hours) before each session. - Potential studies may include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, functional MRI scans, electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, transcranial magnetic stimulation, nerve and sensory stimulation, or movement and mental tasks during any of the above procedures. - This study does not provide treatment for movement disorders. Participants will not have to stop any treatment in order to participate.
The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether Viusid/Alzer Nutritional supplements, could improve the progression disease, in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD).
To demonstrate the superiority of donepezil over placebo in improving cognitive function, neuropsychiatric burden and functional ability in people with Parkinson's disease and mild dementia after 24 months of treatment. To demonstrate the superiority of donepezil over placebo in improving patient and carer quality of life and to establish the cost-effectiveness of donepezil. To determine the instrument most suitable for evaluating change in cognition in people with Parkinson's disease and mild dementia.
The primary purpose of this study is to compare the effects of a non-traditional boxing training program to a traditional therapeutic exercise program on activity and participation outcomes in persons with Parkinson's disease. Thirty participants will be randomly assigned to participate in either non-contact boxing training or traditional therapeutic exercise for 36 sessions over 12 weeks. Participants will be measured immediately before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the intervention.
The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of a RCT evaluating the effectiveness of occupational therapy in Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement (bradykinesia) and, in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement. The primary symptoms are the results of decreased stimulation of the motor cortex arising from the basal ganglia normally caused by the insufficient formation and action of dopamine, which is produced in the dopaminergic neurons of the brain. Secondary symptoms may include high level cognitive dysfunction and subtle language problems. Included in the symptomatology experienced by patients with PD, visual abnormalities are not uncommon. Visual changes among patients with PD appear not only dynamic in nature, but differentially affected based on the course of the disease and, perhaps more importantly, its treatment. Parkinson's disease has significant ramifications not only in observation of irregularities in vision, but how vision interacts with entrainment of the circadian clock. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between PD and operation of a unique set of retinal cells known to regulate the circadian clock and sleep-wake cycles in human subjects.
A decrease or loss of the sense of smell is very common in patients with Parkinson's Disease even in the earliest stages of the disease. There have been no treatments that have been proven to improve sense of smell in patients with Parkinson's Disease. Rasagiline (brand name: Azilect) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 16th 2006 to be used by Parkinson's patients to treat the motor symptoms associated with the disease. The purpose of this study is to see if there is change in sense of smell after starting Rasagiline.
Parkinson´s disease is based on a Lewy body degeneration of cerebral and extracerebral neurons. This Lewy body degeneration includes cerebral cholinergic neurons besides dopaminergic neurons. In previous studies the investigators found that some clinical parkinsonian symptoms - primarily hypokinesia and rigidity - significantly correlate with the dopaminergic nigrostriatal degeneration which was quantified by dopamine transporter imaging. In contrast to that, resting or postural parkinsonian tremor does not correlate with the dopaminergic nigrostriatal degeneration. Obviously further cerebral changes - for instance possible changes / degeneration of cerebral cholinergic neurons - contribute to parkinsonian tremor. In this study the investigators apply cerebral 5-IA-85380-SPECT to quantify the local density of cerebral nicotinergic cholinergic receptors in patients with Parkinson´s disease. The investigators will correlate the results of cerebral 5-IA-85380-SPECT with the clinical parkinsonian main symptoms hypokinesia, rigidity and primarily resting and postural tremor. In particular, it is of interest whether changes of cerebral cholinergic neurons are involved in the generation of parkinsonian tremor.
Levodopa is the main drug treatment for Parkinson's disease. Levodopa can cause unwanted and uncontrolled movements called dyskinesias (LID). The severity of these movements can range from subtle to extremely debilitating. These movements may or may not interfere with normal activities such as putting on a coat or brushing ones teeth. Current estimates of the occurrence rate of LID range from 12 % to 100% after one year of levodopa treatment. These estimates used reporting mechanisms such as self-report and doctor-reported. These reporting mechanisms are not reliable. We will use an objective measure of dyskinesia in the first 5 years of treatment for Parkinson's disease. The purpose of this protocol is to use an objective measure to estimate dyskinesia onset.
Background: - Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, affecting more than 1 percent of the elderly population in the United States and other Western countries. Although effective treatments can alleviate symptoms in early PD, no cure or treatment slowing disease progression has been identified, and patients will eventually develop severe physical and mental disabilities and often die of complications. More research is needed on the causes of and appropriate preventive strategies for PD. - The Shanghai Women s Health Study (SWHS) was established 10 years ago by investigators from the Vanderbilt University, the Shanghai Cancer Institute (SCI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the US. Their primary aim was to examine several unique dietary hypotheses on cancer among Chinese women. Researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and SWHS investigators are now interested in studying PD patients from SWHS to evaluate biological and environmental factors that may have put them at risk for PD. Objectives: - To initiate a long-term prospective study on PD in Chinese women from the Shanghai Women s Health Study. - To examine a set of biological and environmental factors that may raise or lower risk of developing PD. Eligibility: - All participants of the SWHS cohort are eligible. Design: - Researchers will contact self-reported PD cases from the SWHS, confirm (or reject) the self-report, and invite them to a clinical examination at a coordinating hospital in Shanghai. - Cases that confirm the self-report will be invited to visit the coordinating hospital for clinical examinations, including a PD clinical workup, blood and urine collections, a cognitive assessment and relevant neuropsychological testing, and an interview on additional risk factor exposures that are not available from baseline surveys. - For those who could not participate in the clinical examination, researchers will ask for a few details about the diagnosis and treatment history and ask for permission to obtain medical records relevant to PD diagnosis from government or hospital agencies. - For self-reported PD cases who are now deceased, researchers will follow a similar procedure by asking for consent and help from the next-of-kin.